Slayers: Last Quest
by istanzia
Summary: All things come to an end. For the Slayers, it has finally come. But who says that last quests are fought before a new Mazoku Lord in the forest of a deserted land? Sometimes, they happen in a small shack in the middle of nowhere. Happy New Year!
1. Soul Mirror

Firefly Magic presents...  
  
Another Weird Anime Fanfic Production  
  
Written by Jru  
  
Slayers: Reality  
  
AKA Last Quest  
  
Part I: Soul Mirror  
  
Timeline: After Slayers Try  
  
Since the dawn of time, Dragons and Mazoku have been at war. They are opposites of each other, incapable of pretending a like. Since the beginning of ages, they have fought, and have fought hard. Striving to push the other down, to forever beat their enemy... And they almost did. Annihilate each other like the silly single track beings they were...  
  
That is not how the story is supposed to go though. The Lord of Nightmares, the Chaos Queen, L-sama, Creator of this World, had not planned on that. The Dragons were weak, and so were the Mazoku. But the Mazoku were not as weak. Seeing how things were going, something had to be done. She would not let her world be broken. It was not supposed to have one power, either good or bad. There were supposed to be two, two for balance, two for progress, two: to keep loneliness at bay.  
  
And so she created a third being. The humans were suffering badly from the wars of the two more powerful races. To even better balance things out, she needed three. A three legged stool is the most balanced. A coven of three witches runs to perfection. A three leafed clover pointed to the gods. And three was what she needed. So she had formed another being, the third being. A smaller being. Small to be sufficiently insignificant, yet small enough to make a difference. For after all, does not a butterfly's wings create waves in the world? This would be her butterfly, her third leg, herself incarnate. And she sent the being into the world, knowing that her creation would grow up just in time to save her worlds. It hurt, to let her go like that. It hurt to have to instill a fear of her Creator in her. It hurt to force her to hate Nightmares. But it was for her own good. They would notice her power, but not much else, because she would hate it and that would be perfect for the situation.  
  
And after that was over.... Well, let Chaos run its way and then it'll end. Somehow. And it'll work fine. Because after all, it always worked out just fine for her.  
  
*****  
  
The Mazoku were not dumb. When they had felt the ripples coming from her birth, they were confused. Who was this tiny tot who created such waves in the Astral Plane? What power had she been blessed with? What was her function in life? Zelas, as well as the other Mazoku Lords still active, had set up spies around her. Trying to figure her out. If only they could control her, use her, she had so much power. Just there for the taking. Her first dabbles into black magic brought even more excitement. Zelas was left with the sole responsibility of keeping an eye on her. Of making sure that she would be controlled.  
  
She had sent out her best. Xellos, her Trickster Priest. Her buffoon. Her best spy. Lina Inverse had played along, not really caring. To her, Xellos was a commodity she could use. They had let her think that. Xellos's job was to stick around and keep an eye on her. To know everything he could about her. To uncover her darkest secrets. To uncover her biggest secret: Who she was.  
  
"Why such importance in such a mortal?" had asked once a younger Priest. He had not understood.  
  
"I will give you three hints." Zelas, Lady Beastmaster had said. "Her birth caused ripples in the astral plane. She channels Nightmare magic. She hates Nightmare magic. Who is she? Why such importance? That's what we are trying to figure out, pet." And Xellos had understood. He had watched her, like a cat eyeing its unaware prey. And he started to get an inkling of what may be so important about Lina Inverse, Sorceress Extraordinaire, Bane of Dragons and Restaurants, and Mazoku Slayer.  
  
*****  
  
Ceipheed was not dumb. Weak, perhaps, but not dumb. He had needed a Knight and had found one, marking a young girl at birth. Luna Inverse was never given a normal childhood. Ever since she had been small, she had been taken to train with the Dragons. So that she could one day become the Knight of Ceipheed. So that she, one day, would be the powerful and wise right hand of the forces of light, truth and justice, their way. But a child is still a child and at times, her parents called for her. One such time was during the birth of her younger sister, Lina.  
  
She had felt it. Or rather, she knew that the Knight felt it. She had been waiting outside the door, trying to get in despite her father's protests about it. She wanted to SEE. But she was left outside, left to listening to her mother's groans of pain. But soon, a high pitched wail was heard, and Luna's reality fell through.  
  
She gasped as she felt her Knight powers become active, shoving her own consciousness to the back of her mind. It hurt so much, but the Knight was too strong for a girl of four years to stand up to. The Knight's eyes blazed as she went in and took a look at the girl who had just been born. She had felt it. Ceipheed had felt it and told her to investigate. This child... her sister of sorts.... was powerful.  
  
She will need watching. You must keep an eye on her. I feel something from her. She is not white as you are. But she is not black either. L-sama had something to do with it. Keep an eye on her. And if need be, make sure she will always obey the Knight of Ceipheed. I fear the Mazoku may try to get their claws into her.  
  
She had kept an eye on Lina. She obeyed her commands and as soon as Lina was able to understand her older sister, she learned to fear her also. She learned to fear the power that was in her, that flared to life whenever she angered Luna. And she had fled. But not before the damage had been done.  
  
*****  
  
Now, it was making more sense. Lina Inverse. She was a sort of immune system for the humans. She became strong, so much stronger than a normal human was allowed. She had defeated a piece of Ruby Eye, and had called on the Lord of Nightmares to defeat Phibrizzio. She had fought against Dark Star and won. She had channeled Chaos magic through her and suffered no obvious side effects. Or perhaps she did...  
  
*****  
  
Xellos thought. He thought hard. So many years of watching over her. And he had an idea. He had a suspicion of this Lina Inverse, of this World Savior, or so it seemed. A human girl, with affinity to the Lord of Nightmares. A mortal with a spectacular birth. An adult in the body of a forever young slip of a girl...  
  
He carefully hid the manuscript in Amelia's library. Putting things into action was always fun, and he wanted to be along for this ride. He knew how to figure out who Lina was. And then, Zelas would be happy. Once they knew who she was, she would be so much easier to mold to their liking. He heard Amelia coming and he teleported away. Now, to sit back and watch.  
  
*****  
  
Amelia walked cheerfully into the library. It had been a few months since the ordeal with Darkstar. She had gone back to her kingdom of Seyruun and had worked hard on finding a cure for Zelgadis. Seyruun, the capital of white magic, the capital of curative magic MUST have a cure of some sorts for her dear Zelgadis. She would endeavor to find it. Her huge library was turned into a research center where librarians and mages were looking for a cure. For a spell to turn rock into skin. And with no luck.  
  
She absentmindedly thought back to all that had happened. After Darkstar, Lina had just disbanded their group. Just like that. No explanation. She was here one day and left the next, saying that she would adventure on her own once more. That if they ever needed her, well, she had a crystal ball, one of those new-fangled inventions. I'll be around, she had said. And left. She hadn't even taken Gourry along, and he had been hurt. But he bounced easily and in no time, was on route to his home to visit his parents. Zelgadis had left also, heading off by himself in search of a cure. He had a crystal ball too. Should Amelia find anything, she could contact him.  
  
And then her fingers brushed against one manuscript. She looked down and then read it. And then reread it. She broke out into a big grin. Lucky! She had found it! She had found something that would work, she was sure of it.  
  
*****  
  
"...what?" asked Zelgadis, looking at the little image of Amelia in his crystal ball.  
  
"I found it!" she said happily. "Well, I'm pretty sure it will work!"  
  
"What is it?" asked Zelgadis. He was trying hard to not let his hopes rise.  
  
"It's called the Mirror of Reality." said Amelia. "Come to Seyruun! I'll call everyone else!"  
  
*****  
  
Lina looked up from her dinner. It was comparatively smaller than her normal meals, but that was because she was tired. Ever since Darkstar... ever since she had once more tapped into Nightmare Magic, she had been... tired. She didn't know what to do. She just walked about and trashed bandits. But it wasn't as fun. She hadn't brought any of them along. She wanted to be by herself. She had no purpose. She needed a quest badly. Even a last quest. Anything.  
  
She had been having dreams also. Almost every night, she'd have horrific dreams of the Lord of Nightmares coming down on her once more, taking away her self, taking away her identity, taking away her life. She would wake up, cold sweat running down her face, and would swear to never, EVER again, use Nigthmare magic. A glow at the edge of her vision woke her out of her reverie. Her crystal ball was calling.  
  
"Yes?" she asked as she looked into it. A small fuzzy picture of Amelia appeared in the depths of the crystal.  
  
"Miss Lina! We found it!" said Amelia.  
  
*****  
  
So, they wanted to use the Mirror of Reality, huh? Well, that was OK with her. Lina's job was done. She had no more purpose in her life. All the threats had been eliminated. And it would provide a nice way for Lina to come back to her. Silly children. They had no idea, did they, of what would happen should the Mirror of Reality be used wrong...  
  
*****  
  
"Amelia! You need the Soul Mirror for this to work!" said Lina as she looked again over the manuscripts. Amelia's discovery seemed right. It looked like it would work. But they didn't have all the necessary ingredients.  
  
"I'm sure that will be easy to find, Ms. Lina!" said Amelia. "I already have people searching all over Seyruun for it." Lina sighed. Zelgadis was looking through the incantation again. Gourry sat in a corner eating chicken while Sylphiel was looking even more information up.  
  
It was so simple. The Soul Mirror showed who you truly where on the inside. And she was sure that for Zelgadis's case, it would be a human. Because although Zel had a body of stone, he was a human with human thoughts, feelings and cares. Just a bit stoic. They needed to obtain that... and then... cast an incantation over it. To change it into the Mirror of Reality. So that whatever was reflected in the mirror, became what they really where. It was good. Too good to be true. How come they had never come across it? It was as if someone were planning the route ahead. Nonetheless, it was a quest, and she loved quests.  
  
"Well, who is going to have a Soul Mirror lying around in their purse, Amelia?" asked Lina. "There must be a way that we could make one."  
  
"We can!" said Sylphiel. Everyone looked up, excitement on their faces. "Actually, we could."  
  
"Could?" asked Zelgadis  
  
"If we had the ingredients. We need special water, special silver, special many things. Many that have died off or are extinct or that we know nothing off." said Sylphiel. She smiled apologetically at them. "Sorry guys."  
  
Back to Square One.  
  
"I have a mirror!" said Gourry. "Can't we use that?"  
  
"No, jellyfish brains!" shouted Lina as she smashed him on the head. "Pay attention. You need a SPECIAL mirror. Not any mirror."  
  
"But I don't see the difference." said Gourry. "Any mirror will give you a reflection, right?" Lina sighed and motioned for Sylphiel to try and explain something. Amelia, seeing that everyone's nerves were already on the edge went to order some food for her friends.  
  
*****  
  
"OK, this is too much!" shouted Lina Inverse as she threw another book at the wall. They had waited for a week, to see if anyone would answer Amelia's summons on finding the Soul Mirror. It should have reacted to the incantation placed over the city. It was supposed to respond specifically to the Soul Mirror. So far, no one had come up with the mirror. It was futile. None of the manuscripts they had looked through had anything else about the Soul Mirror. And she was starting to get ticked off. Very badly. "I've had it up to here!"  
  
"Please calm down, Ms. Lina." said Amelia as she tried to calm the irate sorceress. "I'm sure that something will turn up."  
  
"It will when I get through with this!" said Lina. She grabbed her crystal ball.  
  
"What are you going to do, Lina?" asked Zelgadis. He had been itching to do something also, and the fact that nothing was happening was driving him nuts. It was, after all, so unlike him. What was he doing here anyway? Sitting in the library, reading through books, staying for a week in one place... he needed to do something. Go out. Search. Find.  
  
"This is for you, so you had better appreciate it." said Lina in a warning tone. She went out of the room and into an adjacent one. Then, she turned on her crystal ball. She knew he was around. He always was and was always spying on them. The stupid fruitcake....  
  
"Xellos! Get here right this instant!" she screamed into her crystal ball.  
  
"Ouch Lina! You don't have to yell!" said Xellos as he materialized into the room. Lina shrieked and then smashed his head with her elbow. Xellos grinned at her and winked saucily. "I see you missed me, love."  
  
"Wha??????" asked Lina before she began to earnestly pummel him. Xellos just smiled.  
  
*****  
  
"You summoned that... thing?" asked Zelgadis, a look of disgust on his face. Xellos pouted.  
  
"Really, Zel-kun! I have a name just like you!" he said chirpily. Lina had dragged him in to everyone's surprise.  
  
"Don't bring me down to your level, Mazoku." said Zelgadis.  
  
"Well, that's a little better." said Xellos approvingly. Zelgadis glared.  
  
"Guys, we don't need this now." said Lina. "Look, if anyone would know about what we're looking for, it would be Xellos."  
  
"Thank you Lina-chan for standing up for me! You do care!" said Xellos.  
  
"Shut up." said Lina as she bashed him with a pillow. "Stop bothering me."  
  
"You were the one who summoned me, Lina-chan!" said Xellos.  
  
"And I'm regretting it already. So tell me where we can find the Soul Mirror before I decide we don't need you and blast you with a Laguna Blade." said Lina. Then she paled and hastily added. "Or perhaps a Dragon Slave." Xellos was the only one who caught her pale look.  
  
"The Soul Mirror? Well, that's a pretty good idea if you're planning to reverse Zel-kun's curse." said Xellos. "Yeah, that's a good idea!"  
  
"You mean you knew about this before?" asked Amelia.  
  
"Sore wa himitsu desu." said Xellos with a wink.  
  
"Just tell us where we can get one, OK?" asked Lina as she glared at him.  
  
"Yes, I know someone who owes me a favor and has a Soul Mirror. He lives three days trip from here if I remember correctly." said Xellos.  
  
"What, you're just telling us? No strings attached?" asked Zelgadis, sounding very suspicious.  
  
"Now that, is a secret." said Xellos.  
  
"Gosh, that's very nice of you Xellos!" said Gourry.  
  
"It's nice of you to think that." said Xellos.  
  
"I don't trust him." said Zelgadis.  
  
"Like it or not, Mr. Zelgadis, I happen to be your only lead at the present moment." said Xellos while smirking at him. "I haven't asked anything in return and since you think I will, then I will do so, just for you."  
  
"What do you want, Xellos?" asked Lina.  
  
"I want..." started Xellos as he looked at Lina. Lina stepped back from him as he opened his eyes, turning his slit gaze upon her. She had the strongest urge to just... Then his eyes turned normally. "...to accompany you for the rest of this quest. That is all."  
  
"No." said Zelgadis.  
  
"Now, that's too bad, then." said Xellos. "I mean, it was, after all, you're decision to want me to ask something in return."  
  
"I did not." said Zelgadis.  
  
"Guys, grow up." said Lina as she got in between them. "Look. Xellos is right. He's our only lead. Zelgadis, the quest probably won't take too long. A few days to get there, and then two more days to get the mirror and you. That's all. It's not even a week. Are you willing to pass up your cure just because of your dislike for him?" Zelgadis just glared at her. He hated it when she made sense. After all, he was supposed to be the calm and rational person in their group.  
  
"OK," said Zelgadis. "When can we start?"  
  
"I can call for servants to get our packs ready and they'd have it done by tomorrow morning!" said Amelia, all excited for their quest. The rest agreed. They were more than glad to get things going. One week of sitting around in a castle, while fun at first, turned pretty old after a while.  
  
*****  
  
"There it is," said Xellos as he pointed at the small, decrepit looking shack before them. "Here, you will find the answer to a few questions, and uncover even more questions. Are you willing to brave this..."  
  
"Oh, stuff a sock into it, Xellos," said Lina dismissively as she looked the shack over. She could tell that Zelgadis really wanted to strangulate Xellos, but when was that not normal? She sighed and tried to scan the house magically. It didn't seem to have anything worth importance in it. She detected no illusion spell or anything faintly magical, i.e.: a Magic Mirror. "Are you sure this is the right place?" she asked suspiciously.  
  
"Of course, Lina-chan!" he said, looking hurt. "Have I ever lied to you?"  
  
"I won't even try to answer that," muttered Lina as she got off her horse. She looked at the other people meaningfully and started to stride towards the shack before them.  
  
"Lina is so brave!" said Amelia as she twirled off her horse and tripped in the process, landing on her face. She quickly got up and laughed nervously. "Let us go onward and find the cure for Mr. Zelgadis!" She ran after Lina.  
  
Zelgadis sighed as he got off his. He took his horse and tried to lead the three horses (his, Amelia's and Lina's) and failed miserably. Gourry, seeing his predicament, quickly got off his horse and helped him lead the horses. Sylphiel got off hers and led it herself and followed the men to tether the horses. Xellos got off his and let it stand outside the shack. His horse wouldn't dare escape from him. It wasn't a magical horse. Of course not. But he could magically restrain it, which was just as good as a cord to tether.  
  
He smiled in excitement as he watched the people near the shack. He couldn't wait until everything started rolling. He just loved it when everything worked together, like a well oiled machine. And he was the originator of this... he loved it. Grinning, he followed Lina and Amelia into the shack.  
  
*****  
  
Lina smirked confidently to herself as she stopped at the door. She waited for the rest of her group to get up to the door before she actually knocked on the door. The whole group waited anxiously for whoever it was that Xellos had led them too. They were all curious as to who Xellos knew. And there was some trepidation too.  
  
Which was why no one knew how to react when the door actually opened and the saw the figure at the door. There was a humanoid looking figure, with no extra limbs or wings or horns. He was slightly taller than Lina, which is to say that he was slightly on the short side. His hair was white as snow and looked like a bird had tried to make a nest with it. His clothes were ragged and faded and looked like they hadn't seen a wash in a few weeks. In his right hand, he held a sword in an extremely threatening way. His flat gray eyes looked at them suspiciously.  
  
"What do you want?" he asked when he saw them. His eyes traveled over all of them, inspecting them carefully as one would do to an enemy. Then they rested on Xellos's purple gaze. Xellos gazed at him in a challenging way, his slit eyes glinting darkly from behind his purple bangs. "You..." he said dangerously.  
  
"Hello, Andreys," said Xellos in a very friendly way, although the Slayers group suddenly realized just how thick the tension was.  
  
"Get out of here, Mazoku." said Andreys as he glared at the Mazoku.  
  
"Now, now, now..." said Xellos with a smile. "What... after 383 years and you don't have anything nice to say to me?"  
  
"383 years?" asked Gourry, who had been quiet until then. "Hey! You look very well preserved! Just like Xellos here!"  
  
"Don't compare me with him." said Andreys with a glare.  
  
"383?" asked Lina. "Are you two serious?"  
  
"Lina, I asked you before... do I lie to you?" asked Xellos with a smirk. Lina grumbled.  
  
"I don't know how you all got involved with Xellos," said Andreys. "But any friend of his is an enemy of mine. However, due to circumstances beyond my control, you may come in to do your business. However, you are all to leave when you are done." said Andreys.  
  
He walked into the house and left them at the door, the door open.  
  
"Nice pal you got there, Xellos..." said Gourry. Lina sighed and led her group inside.  
  
*****  
  
The group sat in what passed as a sorry excuse of a sitting room. Popular convention had it that sitting rooms had places for people to sit in, so it had one. There was a rather dingy sofa on one side of the room and was faced by a few chairs that had obviously seen better days. Despite all the dust and the tear in the furniture, though, one could tell that it was not as bad as first sight may entail.  
  
Amelia carefully wiped away the dust of a chair and looked at the delicate design that appeared underneath the dust, it's gold thread catching light from the candles on the holders all around the room.  
  
"You have very exquisite furniture," said Amelia, despite the fact that it was extremely dusty and not very well cared after. "The... Henan era?"  
  
Andreys, who had been glaring at the group ever since they had come in widened his for a second before they resumed their glare once more.  
  
"Yes." he said. Andreys wasn't the only one who was surprised, though. Xellos was too. As were Zelgadis and Lina. Gourry had already sat down and his knowledge of history within the shield was minimal apart from the lineage of the Sword of Light. And Sylphiel hadn't seemed to be the type of person who knew much about furniture. However, both Lina and Zelgadis were scholars, despite their mercenary attitude and their views of the princess went up by a notch.  
  
"What do you want?" asked Andreys gruffly after they all sat down. He leaned against the fireplace in the room and glared at them all, as if daring them to even go forward with their request. His challenging slate-grey eyes met Lina's fiery ones. She smiled at him and spoke.  
  
"We have heard that you have in your possession a certain rare and magical artifact. We are looking for the Soul Mirror." To his credit, Andrey did not bat an eyelash. There was an uncomfortable silence.  
  
"So?" asked Andrey finally.  
  
"We would like to obtain it." said Lina as she kept her composure. Her respect for him went up by a tiny bit when she saw that he wasn't reacting at all to her cool demeanor mixed with her fiery spirit. She knew she intimidated people when she got into her magically negotiating mood. He was a cool figure, that one. And there was something else about him...  
  
"What for?" asked Andreys. Xellos, sensing a warning, quickly spoke, interrupting Lina as she began to speak.  
  
"Andreys. You are to do as you are told. Nothing more, nothing less." He gave him a cool smile and challenged him to disobey. Andrey just glared and using a minor teleportation spell, brought up the object at hand.   
  
"I do not see why you want to do this. The Soul Mirror will just bring delusion and grief." said Andreys as he held in his hand a small silver mirror with black iron casting and a silver base. He tossed it up and down in his hands, watching them watch his mirror twirl in the air. Lina's eyes glittered as soon as Andreys lifted the sealing spell off the mirror. Immediately, the small room was crackling with the magic the mirror emitted.  
  
Zelgadis frowned intelligently. He was this close to obtaining it. Everything was going right: Xellos had not lied about the man, and he had not lied about the mirror. He was with his group and if anyone could, they would grab the artifact. Therefore, something must be wrong. And his ears heard the phrase he had been dreading.  
  
"...delusion and grief?..." he asked, not quite sure.  
  
"Yes." said Andreys stoically. His gray eyes stared coolly into Zelgadis's blue ones. Zelgadis glared back and then turned to look at Xellos.  
  
"What are you hiding from us, Mazoku?" he asked suspiciously. Xellos just smirked at him, his purple slit gaze, open for once, looking more than amused.  
  
"Moi? Poor little innocent moi?" Zelgadis glared at the purple haired fiend. "Sore wa himitsu desu." And with that, he vanished. His disappearance seemed to cause action to flow throughout the room. Lina made a lunge for the mirror, only to have it levitated higher above her reach.  
  
"Hey!" she said as she glared at Andreys. "Why won't you give it to me?"  
  
"The Mirror itself requires three tests." said Andreys. "And only if you pass, you can keep the Mirror, if you still wish to." Lina's eyes hardened on hearing that. No, she was not totally gaga over the Mirror. It was still cool though. However, one must always keep a sharp eye for specific phrases such as "however", "or else" and such. Just because she loved shiny things didn't mean she was dumb when seeing one. Shiny things were often guarded by huge freaking beasts who had nothing better to do than to threaten lovely and beautiful fragile flowers of womanhood such as herself.  
  
"What about the Mirror causes such warnings to accompany it's giving?" asked Lina.  
  
"You shall see." said Andreys.  
  
"Whatever," said Lina. "You said tests. What type?"  
  
"Oh, quite simple." said Andreys with a smile. "All you have to do is look in the Mirror. The Mirror will deal with the details. And after you have passed, I shall explain to the mystery behind the Mirror. Then we shall see what happens."  
  
"OK, OK, whatever." said Lina in a dismissing manner. "Who goes?"  
  
"First, tell me why you want the Mirror." said Andreys. Lina frowned. Whether Zelgadis wanted this complete stranger to know or not was up to him. She looked over at the stoic chimera and shrugged.  
  
"I don't mind. Others in the group may." said Lina. Zelgadis thought about it a bit.  
  
Xellos had taken them to this place and told them that it would work. Amelia had poured over the manuscript looking for hidden meanings and tiny clauses that would get him messed up and came with nothing. It seemed like it would actually work. Now, though... it seemed as if the Mirror had some secret with it. Something that marred it's white innocence. Andreys may actually know enough to warn them. Speaking of which...  
  
"How about we exchange stories?" said Zelgadis. "We tell you ours. You tell us yours. Like why you're mixed up with the fruitcake." Any friend of Xellos would put Zelgadis on the edge. He was wary and wasn't going to be tricked. Not this time: he was so close...  
  
"Sounds fair. I will tell you my story tonight. After all, I would do anything possible under the circumstances to not only mess up Xellos's plans but to put an end to them as well." he said. And for a moment, his gray eyes stopped being stony with a hint of something else in them. Zel caught it. Everyone else missed it. "You will tell me yours first, though."  
  
*****  
  
Dinner time finally arrived. Everyone was around the dining table that Andreys had. No one asked out loud why a hermit like Andrey would have a dining table from three centuries behind, but Amelia was drooling over the furniture, and almost fearful of actually eating in the table lest she accidentally spill on it. She finally sat next to Zelgadis and made sure that she would not spill or drop anything on the table or chair. And once that was done, she smiled at her Mr. Zelgadis.  
  
He was just so smart and cool! She was glad that they had found the scroll about the Mirror. Now, though they had to be alert. Her face changed from nervousness to happiness to her princess mode. Sure, she couldn't help but look cute and vacant, but it did cover the fact that she was analyzing what was around her. Great in those political meetings she and dad had to go through as royalty of Seyruun.  
  
Beside Zelgadis sat Sylphiel, and beside Sylphiel sat Gourry who looked very excited. After all, they were going to eat soon and from seeing the size of the table, he had not worries that it would be a big feast. At least, he hoped so. He looked to one side and saw Sylphiel smiling gently at him as she carefully eased herself into her chair, looking pure, polite and demure.  
  
"Aren't you excited, Gourry? Mr. Andreys is going to tell us more about the Mirror." she said.  
  
"Yeah, Sylphiel." said Gourry. Then he frowned. "But why do we have to wait for the story? Can't we just, like, grab it or something?"  
  
"Stupid jellyfish," said Lina, who was sitting right next to Gourry. "We need to know more about the Mirror. Make sure that it works right and that it's not another trap set up by Xellos!" She glared at the other guy next to her, the trickster priest himself.  
  
"Why, Lina-chan. You do hurt me with your sharp tongue." said Xellos with a smile. "But trust me, this is not a game or a trick. The Mirror will do just as the manuscript said. Besides, it's not me who suggested it. Amelia found the scroll, right?"  
  
"That's true! I found the scroll for Mr. Zelgadis, and deep down in my heart, I know that this will be the item we are looking for! I know that truth, love and justice are on our side and that we will triumph!" said Amelia. Xellos winced while Zelgadis sighed.  
  
Between Amelia and Xellos was an empty seat that would be occupied by Andreys, should he ever decide to show up. Having told him already the reason behind Zelgadis wanting to use the Soul Mirror, the Slayers crew were more than ready to hear what Andrey had to say about the story. Xellos smiled off in the corner and relaxed. He knew what the Soul Mirror would show Zelgadis. And he was certain that Zelgadis would be one of the ones being tested. He wondered who the rest would be. Maybe him... after all, Andreys was still pretty angry at him. He smiled in anticipation.  
  
*****  
  
"So I'll start my story." said Andreys after they ate a simple meal of chicken, some beef broth and some bread. It was a modest fare, but for people like Lina and Gourry, quality over quantity was sometimes overrated.  
  
"The Soul Mirror has the power to show the person looking who they really are on the inside." he started. "Made of extremely strong magic, not quite black, white nor shaman, no one really knows who came up with the spell and why. It's use is limited and not usually used. For your current mission, I believe that it will suffice. As you may know or imagine or not know, should that be the case, the Soul Mirror will show the soul to the person. If you are satisfied with what you see, then go ahead, by all means, and turn it into the Mirror of Reality. What you saw in the Soul Mirror will be what you get after the Mirror of Reality's spell is done. That is assured. There is no mistake. So, Mr. Zelgadis, should you go ahead in your pursuit of curing your skin condition, you can go in assured that you will get what you see, to put it vulgarly."  
  
Zelgadis seethed at the term "skin condition". It was like calling a chimeric curse that put blue stones on your body a case of acne and maybe a rash. Which is what Andreys what doing. Wisely, he kept his mouth shut as Andreys finally began telling the story that they were all curious about.  
  
"I was born, quite a long time ago. During the era of the furniture you are sitting on. Yes, Miss Amelia. These are all originals of the Henan period. I was born about 400 years ago. I was quite the magician and sorcerer in my time, I can assure you and could have stood up even to you, Lina Inverse." Lina glared at him but he continued as if he hadn't noticed a thing. "Not only was I as powerful as you are now, Lina Inverse, I was also as rash as you were in your younger days. I have heard about you, Miss Lina, and how you used to throw around Nightmare magic as if you could live forever and never suffer a consequence. I'm glad you have wizened up and have stayed away from that. I hope you will stay away also." He looked at Lina closely. Lina glared back at him, hating herself for letting his words get at her. Of course she knew that there were consequences. What was worrying her was that she wasn't showing any. So far, despite all the summons on the Lord of Nightmares, nothing had happened. She had been manipulated once but she had been given back. Nothing permanent... but the clock was ticking: her good luck could NOT last forever.  
  
"As a reckless magician who believed in mortality, I went forward to search for a cure that would end all my worries. I felt that I had a lot of magical potential. I would NOT let it all go to waste. Realize that only because of Xellos's instructions that I am even telling you this. Believe me, this is not my crowning achievement in life. I decided that I would outsmart everyone, including the dragons. Including the mazoku. And so I struck a deal that would give me immortality. I struck it with the wrong demon." Here, he glared at Xellos who only smiled and waved at him. "Any other demon would have offered it to me and then killed me when I gave them what they wanted. Any other demon would have removed my consciousness and used me as a puppet to wreak havoc and destruction. I was ready for any sort of demon except Xellos. You see, just like now a days, Xellos is not well known outside of the Mazoku realm. Sure, some may know of him, see him as Zelas's priest. But they don't know his deviousness, his trickery, his cunning..."  
  
"Now, now, you're going to embarrass me in front of my friends!" said Xellos with a smile. Zelgadis seethed at the word 'friends' but once again remained silent. Ever since Andreys had said the word 'cure' he knew that something bad would happen. It was experience that told him that.  
  
"I was young and did not know my Mazoku hierarchy well enough. I did not know that this Xellos that I spoke with was not only Zelas's right hand. He was the Trickster Priest that played fools out of humans. I went to him and said that I was willing to pay any price for immortality apart from selling my soul to the devil himself. As it is, I had planned many safeguards against mind controlling spells and had protected myself adequately, or so I had thought. I had wanted a higher level Mazoku for they had more power and would be able to offer more."  
  
"It didn't turn out though, did it?" asked Zelgadis. He knew what was coming next. It was like a repeat of his story. He had wanted to get stronger, to be actually able to cast magic other than a pathetic light spell that sent him sweating buckets. And Rezo had promised it. And in the process of accomplishing it...  
  
"I got changed into half a demon. I almost became a full demon but my safeguards kicked up. However, not even that was enough. And then, he left me not only as a hybrid of two races that were never meant to mix, but also as a being torn between two worlds, experiencing advantages from neither. Half mazoku and half human. I get the weaknesses of both and only eternal longevity keep me going today. And I owed him a favor. And you are here today to reclaim it."  
  
There was some silence. Xellos smiled. Sure, Andreys had put out a pretty little tale that would instill fear in the hearts of Lina and Co. But it would not be enough to detract them from the Mirror. Especially since it was so close. He knew that Zelgadis was imagining having real pliable skin and soft hair. He knew that he had Lina hooked with a treasure of rare importance. And the followers of the group. Whatever their fearless leader did, they would follow. Amelia would follow Zelgadis. Sylphiel would follow Gourry who would follow Lina. Suckers...  
  
"Fine. But from what we gather, it's not going to be detrimental to our health, right?" asked Lina.  
  
"Detriwhat?" asked Gourry. He had been trying hard to keep up and had basically gotten up to the fact that the furniture was original. On, and that the dude thought he could be an equal to Lina in magic.  
  
"Don't worry about it, Jellyfish brains." said Lina in an annoyed voice. She turned back to Andreys. "We can still go through with our plan, right?"  
  
"It would work." said Andreys. "Are you willing to go through with a plan put by the Trickster Priest himself?"  
  
"It will work." said Zelgadis. "That is all that matters. The rest, we will be able to deal with." Andreys sighed.  
  
"You are asking for it. And I even went through the trouble of explaining to you the danger. So be it. The ones tested are three. You Zelgadis for you must see how you will be effected by the mirror. You, Lina Inverse as leader of the team. And you, Xellos, in hopes that what you see may be able to be used against you somehow, someway."  
  
Xellos smiled to himself. Perfect, Lina was getting the Mirror treatment. However, he didn't really want to look in the mirror. But he knew that if he didn't, then Andreys would not give it up and there went all his lovely plans.  
  
"With pleasure," said Xellos. "I always wanted to know how I was seen by others, after all." Lina just smiled with excitement. Had Andreys not put her on the 'guinea pig' list, she would have fought for her right to be included. This was going to be great. After all, she was a sorcery genius and she had to experience all types of magic. How else could one improve?  
  
*****  
  
They were ready. The three guinea pigs, volunteers or whatever it was you wanted to call them were ready for the big day. Amelia looked on with a worried smile on her face, trying to keep her demeanor cheerful while trying to calm herself and force herself to believe that all would be well. It was going to be her first encounter with Mirror Magic, and she suddenly realized that she had doubts. She had never seen Mirror Magic in action, and what happened if something wrong happened during the spell? Say the mirror cracked? What happened if the mirror was marred, scratched, chipped...? She stood beside Zelgadis and tentatively gave him a pat on the shoulder to try to reassure him. Zelgadis looked up at her and smiled at her. She smiled back and all her butterflies were gone. She beamed.  
  
Sylphiel and Gourry took it upon themselves to keep guard beside the mirror to make sure that no one would accidentally push it and break it during the actual spell. Actually, Sylphiel was chosen but she dragged Gourry along. Hopefully, between the two of them, they would be able to handle any problems.  
  
Lina smiled with anticipation as she sat relaxed on a couch. She had had a big breakfast and was ready to take this on. She would be able to handle this new-fangled Mirror Magic and she'd incorporate it into her magical repertoire.  
  
Xellos just smiled at himself as he sat on one of the dining chairs, calmly sipping a cup of tea that Andreys had been forced to give him. This would be very interesting. Curiously, he wondered if the mirror would react differently to Mazoku? Hm....  
  
*****  
  
Xellos was unanimously declared the first to try the Mirror.  
  
"Why me!?" asked Xellos in a petulant voice as he made eyes at Lina. Lina raised an eyebrow and resisted the urge to blast him away.  
  
"Because in case something goes wrong, it goes wrong to you, not to us." said Lina.  
  
"You should be proud to help in this cause in the way only you can!" said Amelia from her place beside Zelgadis. This time Xellos raised and eyebrow and resisted the urge to turn Amelia into a sugary cream puddle on the floor.  
  
"Chicken?" asked Zelgadis as he crossed his arms across his front and smirked at the Mazoku. He would feel slightly more secure after seeing Xellos try it first. And if for some reason, he had to recuperate, then he would be able to try the mirror in peace, knowing that Xellos was too knocked out to try anything funny.  
  
"Yes, I'm hungry!" said Gourry. Everyone sweat-dropped and Sylphiel hurriedly rushed over to Gourry's side to try to explain what was going on to him. Lina sighed. At least she didn't have to be sicked with the task of explaining facts to Gourry...  
  
Xellos sighed and resolutely looked into the Mirror which Andreys held up with a smirk. Suddenly,... he didn't feel too sure about.... He blacked out.  
  
*****  
  
He awoke to seeing a black and empty void around him. He chuckled to himself. It seemed as if the mirror worked. He knew he was an big black scary monster of nothingness. He was a Mazoku after all. Satisfied with the fact that all was fine, he got up and tried to find the way out. However, the blackness had no intention of letting him out yet. Slowly, the void shaped itself around him and pictures grew from the black miasma. Xellos just smiled and brought himself into a sitting position to watch the show.  
  
*****  
  
As soon as Xellos's legs became limp and fell to the floor, the whole room quieted down.  
  
"Um,... shouldn't someone pick Mr. Xellos up and put him on the sofa or something?" asked Amelia when no one moved. Three pairs of eyes turned to look at her with amazement. Sylphiel was frying some chicken for Gourry in the kitchen and ere, therefore, not there to hear her statement. "Oh,... oops." she said with some embarrassment. The mirror stood unguarded on its little stand on the table, its face a swirl of black and gold.  
  
*****  
  
Xellos twitched at some of the figures shown. Had he really looked like that when he had just begun working for Zelas so long ago? He was glad he toned down on the jewels and gaudy jewelry. He looked infinitely better looking just like a simple priest.  
  
*****  
  
"He's still smiling, the fruitcake," said Lina with perplexity.  
  
"He looks content," said Amelia.  
  
"He's probably feeding off the negative emotions the Mirror is showing him." said Zelgadis. They wondered at what the mirror was showing Xellos. It was a good thing that they didn't know...  
  
*****  
  
Xellos frowned slightly when the slide show finished. That was it? That was all the mirror had to show him? After all this excitement? It had shown all the steps that he had taken, all the actions he had done during his whole life. Even actions he hadn't remembered and histories he had forgotten about. It showed everything. He was about to just go away disappointed when he realized that it was not done yet. The next few slides were blurry, and he realized they were future actions. He strained his eyes, trying to figure out what would happen. He saw flashes of red mixed in with speckles of gold. Red? Could that be Lina? How about Gold? Suddenly, the flashing lights stopped, as if it had just run into an invisible wall. And off in the distance was a speck. A speck that seemed to be getting bigger and bigger.  
  
As it got closer and closer, Xellos could see some defining features. It was curled in a fetal position, with a long black cloak covering it. It was also shaking uncontrollably. It got even closer and Xellos began backing away from it, all of a sudden not really wanting to know what it was. But it got closer and closer...  
  
Purple hair covered a head that seemed to be cowering in the arms of a little child. And as the child got closer, sobs and weeping could be heard. He tried to turn and run away but his legs seemed to be made of lead, making it so hard for him to run. The child came nearer, and stopped before him. Xellos resolutely braced himself for a collision with what appeared to be a miniature him. But no collision occurred. He opened his eyes and saw that the little boy had opened his own violet eyes.  
  
"Mister?" he asked in a small voice of a small 7 year old. Xellos didn't speak. "Mister? Are you here to help me?" At this, Xellos broke loose from his leaded shoes, it seemed, and he ran in the direction opposite from which the child came. As he ran, he heard the child's voice ring softly in the silence. "Please... don't leave me. I'm so lonely. Don't go away..." He braced his legs and ran even faster, running even further away from the little boy, an exact replica of that little child that he used to be so long ago... And still the child's voice called over his shoulder.  
  
*****  
  
Lina watched anxiously, a small frown on her face. He had stiffened suddenly. His expression was tense, and even scared for a bit.  
  
"Worried?" asked a voice behind her. She turned around and faced Andreys slate gray eyes.  
  
"No," denied Lina as she tore away from Xellos's face which seemed to be clenching.  
  
"I, myself, went through the mirror." said Andreys softly.  
  
"And what happened? What did you see?" asked Lina.  
  
"Reality. How things really are. It did not stop me from becoming who I was, though," said Andreys. "Xellos, is experiencing the same agony I faced."  
  
"Agony?" asked Lina, not liking the sound of that.  
  
"He is not a good person, Lina." said Andreys. "Neither was I. The mirror shows you the real you, and if you happen to not have been a decent person, it will show you that, without your own clouded illusions coloring it. You see what is really there."  
  
"And Xellos..." started Lina.  
  
"Is seeing who he really is and what it really means." said Andreys simply. "That's how the Mirror works. It's Nightmare magic, did you know?" He did not see Lina's blanched face. "It's simple magic too. Like a mirror, it will just show. It will do nothing to you right now. Not until it becomes the Mirror of Reality. Then it can change the world. Now, it will only show."  
  
With those helpful words, Andreys left her to ponder her own thoughts. Nightmare magic..... It called on the Lord of Nightmares.... and she wanted absolutely nothing to do with it. But she had said she would already. She was stuck... Fine, after this, she would never ever use the LoN's magic again. Never.  
  
*****  
  
Xellos woke up to a pair of vibrant red eyes staring at him in a half concerned manner.  
  
"Hey, Xellos... you OK?" asked Lina as she stood beside him, looking down with curiosity in her eyes. He groggily blinked his eyes and half wondered what he was doing on the floor.  
  
"I'm... ok," he said. He slowly got up and shook his head. That had been... weird. Very. Especially the last part. Worriedly, he wondered if Lina or any of the others had known what he had seen.  
  
"So, what did you see?" she asked as Xellos got up.  
  
"Sore wa himitsu desu," he answered automatically. It had always been like that. He always had answered that. Thinking back, he quickly rethought. No, he hadn't always answered that. Just that once he had entered Zelas's side, he needed to keep his secrets from others.  
  
"Oh, I know," said Lina wisely as she nodded her head understandingly. It seemed as if what Andreys said was right. Even Xellos would have had his view coloring his actions.  
  
"You know?" asked Xellos, his eyes widening slightly. How did she know? Had he mumbled something while he was out? He could have... Or maybe she was bluffing... "Of course not." he said.  
  
"It probably IS a shock, seeing what all your actions really are and what they really mean." said Lina. "Probably more if all this time you've been just treating it as the way you do things."  
  
Xellos's eyes narrowed. Did she know, or did she not? She was dropping hints, that he was pretty sure, but he wasn't sure exactly how much... His thoughts were interrupted by Zelgadis coming in.  
  
"Hey Zelgadis!" said Lina. She pointed at Xellos. "He's awake. It's your turn now."  
  
"Oh, joy," he said, keeping up his sarcastic demeanor even though he was excited. He was so close. So close. Secretly, he was glad he was next; the curiosity was killing him.  
  
Lina silently blew a sigh of relief. She was glad Zelgadis had been so willing to accept being next. Not now... she didn't want to go yet. She needed to calm herself first. Her mouth tightened slightly as she tried to control her trembling.  
  
Xellos looked at her face and was puzzled. What to assume? That she was thinking about what he thought she knew about him...  
  
Zelgadis called in Andreys and he performed the incantation and Zelgadis looked in. Lina looked on and suddenly remembered that Zelgadis would loose consciousness.  
  
"Amelia! Come help me!" she shouted, knowing that Amelia would like nothing better than to be able to hold Zelgadis in some form or another. And she did. The two girls, along with the help of a reluctant Xellos dragged Zelgadis's form onto a couch.  
  
"Why didn't I get a couch?" whined Xellos, back to his slightly perky self.  
  
"Because no one wanted to touch you," said Lina with a glare. Xellos just smiled.  
  
*****  
  
Zelgadis awoke in the same darkness that had engulfed Xellos, not that he knew. And once more, the black miasma seemed to swirl around him and began the story of his life.  
  
In the images, Zelgadis actually found himself enjoying the first few moments. It had been a long time since he had even thought about his own parents. And he finally saw himself human, after so many years. It was almost like seeing a different person with their own family, but he knew it was him. He knew that beneath all his layers of rock, a human boy was still in there. There must be.  
  
*****  
  
"He looks so peaceful," commented Amelia as she sat on the armrest of the couch and reverently stroked his wire hair.  
  
"I guess he really did have some happy times instead of always having been the serious Zelgadis we all knew." said Lina.  
  
"Makes me wonder... do you think he'll ever tell us about them?" asked Amelia.  
  
"I don't know," said Lina. She looked pensively at Zelgadis's peaceful sleeping form. "He'll tell if he is comfortable. I know... with me. I'd cherish my own moments. And I would be hard-pressed to let others know about it. Unless I knew them very well."  
  
Amelia nodded and kept on. She looked down and smiled at Zelgadis. Lina mentally sighed. Amelia was smitten, that was for sure.  
  
*****  
  
Zelgadis watched, and if he were sitting in a sofa, he would have been gripping the armrests in such a way as to leave an indentation in the material. Rock fingers make that very easy.  
  
This was the crucial part. Before him, he saw the red billowy cape of Rezo with his silver, jangly staff and his past figure, still human. What would happen?  
  
*****  
  
In the room, Amelia saw Zelgadis tense up. Her smile wavered. What happened?  
  
*****  
  
He sighed... the transformation had occurred... just like he remembered it. He sighed and let himself watch the rest of his life as a chimera. Was that what the mirror was trying to tell him? That he was turned into a chimera and a chimera he would remain? He wanted to know the answer to his question, but the blackness seemed to reign him in and not let him move. As if saying, 'Relax... watch... learn'. Fine, he would watch, and he would try to relax...  
  
Watching his life roll before him was interesting. Now that his last hope for a cure had been dashed, he had the chance to watch his life. As he watched, he realized just how much he had overreacted. It was funny how while you're living life, everything seemed so much urgent. His quest for Rezo. Even his first meeting with Lina... he had been frantic. All his worries were huge and he had made a mountain out of a molehill. Albeit, the molehill had been bigger than your average molehill, but essentially, that is what it was.  
  
But once he had met Lina, although his problems stayed the same, everything became slightly more bearable. At times, even quite fun and entertaining. Of course, he wouldn't call meeting that fruitcake of a priest entertaining, but it hadn't been the same as before. Where as before, his only thought was for revenge and a desperation for becoming human, it was now toned down. It was more in control. It was its real size again.  
  
So deep was he in his thoughts that he didn't realize when it had started. Suddenly, he noticed a bright light out of the scene and he looked up. To his surprise, he saw Lina when she had been possessed by the Lord of Nightmares. It was a still picture, frozen in time. It was as if someone had stopped the moment and then quickly drew it out. There was Lina, who was not Lina then. But it was her at the same time. It was Lina and L-sama. And all around her... were them. Amelia, Gourry, Sylphiel, even Xellos in the corner and Phibrizio terrified at the petite girl's feet. And he was there...in skin and bone, with natural hair. No more chips on his face or rocks on his elbows.  
  
"Lina knows how to?" asked Zelgadis.  
  
"She does not know yet. But she will." said the voice. "Let her pass through the mirror. And do not let her know. For knowledge of what is to come to the very one that will do it will jinx your only hope." And suddenly there was no more black and he found himself looking up into Amelia's worried eyes.  
  
*****  
  
"You're next, Miss Lina!" shouted Amelia excitedly after everyone had calmed down from hearing all the information that Zelgadis had given them. Which, to be truthful, hadn't been much. Zelgadis was absolutely radiant. He wasn't telling them yet, he said. But by tomorrow, he was sure it would work out. She had taken the good news the best and was positively beaming. Lina was very excited about Zelgadis, but soon found her excitement diminishing.  
  
It was simple, after all. Zelgadis had finished his experience with the Mirror. And from his numerous recountings, she knew that nothing bad would happen to her. However... she didn't know... she did NOT want to experience Nightmare magic again...  
  
"Um... I'll do it tomorrow." said Lina nervously. It was afternoon now, and she needed the time to psych up to deal with the Mirror.  
  
"But Miss Lina!" said Amelia. "We can't do the incantation to turn it into the Mirror of Reality without you first passing the test. I'm sure you'll pass the test with flying colors!"  
  
"Come on, Lina!" said Gourry. "It's going to be OK! It's just a mirror after all."  
  
"Gourry dearest is right, Miss Lina," said Sylphiel backing him up. Xellos did not comment but just smiled at her and neither did Andreys speak. Lina bit her bottom lip. None of them knew just how much she hated Nightmare magic. Heck, no one even knew it was Nightmare magic they had been dealing with. No one knew that when you looked into the Mirror, you were helping in the summoning of the Lord of Nightmares. No one...  
  
"Lina!" Someone shouted her name. Surprised, she blinked and looked up to see her reflection in the surface of the Mirror. Her eyes widened as she realized she had just been tricked. Her legs gave away under her and she fell, just to be caught by two arms, one of them still holding the Mirror.  
  
"Hey, someone had to do it." said Xellos with a cheerful smile. He looked down at Lina. Now, that Lina was 'in' the Mirror, his plan would once again get moving. Zelgadis just looked relieved. Had Xellos not done it, he would have tricked her. After waiting so long for this chance, his patience was limited. And despite his recent lesson, he thought Lina should just grow up and deal with the Mirror. She had been so excited about it before anyway.  
  
*****  
  
Lina's eyes were clenched shut. She was definitely, absolutely, totally NOT going to look and see what was happening. If she didn't see anything, she'd hopefully be kicked out of the spell. And if Andreys said anything like that she hadn't finished her test and had not passed it, she'd just dragon slave him and then steal the mirror from him. Simple as that. So she waited... and she waited... and nothing was happening... She sighed... so the darkness or whatever it was outside would just wait her out, huh? Well, she could be very patient when she needed to be, despite popular opinion. So she waited...  
  
Nothing was happening.... She strained her ears... Was nothing going to happen?   
  
*****  
  
Xellos laid her down on the sofa that had, minutes ago, held Zelgadis's still form. Unlike the two before her, her face showed absolutely no emotion and she was not moving or doing anything. Zelgadis looked a bit worried. He could tell that Amelia and Xellos were. They had seen how Zel had reacted and he was definitely showing much more emotion than Lina was presently showing.  
  
"Do you think Miss Lina is OK?" asked Amelia to no one in particular. Andreys stood more in the back and just watched the proceedings.  
  
"I don't know." said Zelgadis. Amelia had told him that they expected some sort of movement or reaction. Some emotion on her face would have been nice.  
  
"Maybe what you did was not such a good idea, Mr. Xellos," ventured Amelia when she looked up and saw Xellos looking at Lina's inert form.  
  
"Maybe, maybe not," answered Xellos cryptically. With that, he left the room, only to return a few minutes later with a chair to sit in. And with that, he settled himself to watch her reaction, should she ever show any. And he honestly hoped she did. He needed that information.  
  
*****  
  
Lina squeezed her eyes tighter. She could feel 'something' trying to open them, to force her to look. So they thought they could just boss Lina Inverse around, eh? Well, think again! She shut them even tighter, and clenched her fists. She was NOT going to be won over by...by...by whoever it was out there.  
  
She heard a sigh in the distance like the whisper of a soothing wind. Lina felt her curiosity aroused, but the logical part of her mind staunchly refused to give up.  
  
"Daughter..." said the voice, gentle, like the whooshing of the wind as it flew by her. Her eyes opened up in surprise as her ruby red eyes met a pair that shined just as brightly as hers, with hair that flew and danced in the wind of the suddenly filled room.  
  
*****  
  
"She's relaxing." said Amelia as she noted the tenseness in the forehead go away. "I'm glad."  
  
"Me too," said Zelgadis who felt silently relieved. Lina's non-response had been worrying him.  
  
Xellos looked on in the distance, not sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing that Lina had all of a sudden adapted to the Mirror. What did it mean? Or better yet,... did it mean what he thought it meant?  
  
End Part 1: Soul Mirror  
  
Author's Notes: It's been a loooooooooooooooooooooooooong time since I've written. Hopefully, I still know how to write something readable. Hope you like it. This is the first part of a two part story. The next part...hm... look for it in about a month or two...lol. It depends how much time I have. Life as a Biochem major is not easy. ^^ Take care. C and C most definately welcome. Thanks! 


	2. Mirror of Reality

Firefly Magic presents...  
  
Another Weird Anime Fanfic Production  
  
Written by Jru  
  
**Slayers: Reality  
  
AKA Last Quest  
  
Part II: Mirror of Reality  
**  
Timeline: After Slayers Try  
  
Quick notes before we start: No,... this has no romantic bias. Well, that's what I'm trying to do. Since I usually write X/L fiction, it may seem that way at times, but remember, Zelgadis and Gourry are along for the ride too. I'm trying my best to keep this as uncoupled as possible. Well.... I'm not saying I'm good at doing that, you know.... ;;  
  
Sorry this took out a loooooooooooooooooooooooot longer than I thought it would. I underestimated my homework, papers, concerts and my own inherent laziness. Thank you for your patience and for your reviews. They had made me extremely happy and have given me great joy. And yes, I was motivated to write whenever I read your reviews. However, many times in life, I seem to find laziness to have a much stronger affect on me than inspiration. Unless, of course, I'm well caught up on sleep, which is usually not the case. Enjoy, Part II of the Mirror of Reality.  
  
Last chapter:  
  
Lina squeezed her eyes tighter. She could feel 'something' trying to open them, to force her to look. So they thought they could just boss Lina Inverse around, eh? Well, think again! She shut them even tighter, and clenched her fists. She was NOT going to be won over by...by...by whoever it was out there.  
  
She heard a sigh in the distance like the whisper of a soothing wind. Lina felt her curiosity aroused, but the logical part of her mind staunchly refused to give up.  
  
"Daughter..." said the voice, gentle, like the whooshing of the wind as it flew by her. Her eyes opened up in surprise as her ruby red eyes met a pair that shined just as brightly as hers, with hair that flew and danced in the wind of the suddenly filled room.  
  
"She's relaxing." said Amelia as she noted the tenseness in the forehead go away. "I'm glad."  
  
"Me too," said Zelgadis who felt silently relieved. Lina's non-response had been worrying him.  
  
Xellos looked on in the distance, not sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing that Lina had all of a sudden adapted to the Mirror. What did it mean? Or better yet,... did it mean what he thought it meant?  
  
She saw everything.  
  
A golden pale light shone over the young earth. Dragons soared over the skies, not as the primitive race they had been brought down as but in all their glory, radiating their power and majesty. And down below her, on the ground of the still forming earth, where the Mazoku. Not the ones she had recently defeated. These were untainted, pure evil and were still in one piece. She had thought nothing could have been worse than fighting against one of the pieces of the Shabranigudo. Fibrizzio showed her the error of her views. There was something about the cruelty his eyes had shown that had been out of place on the face of the young boy he had created. And Darkstar, an other-wordly threat had been even more drastic. Those were nothing compared to what she saw now.  
  
However, despite it all, she found herself smiling at the purity of both forms. They were purely whatever they were incarnating. L-sama had done a good job in creating them.  
  
"Thank you, child," a voice behind her sounded. Startled, Lina looked back in surprise, her eyes frightened at what she would see. Behind her stood a glowing lady with a slim and slender build. Her gold hair flowed down her back in straight waves and her bangs covered her glimmering eyes. In her hands, she held her shovel, gleaming in the light of the bright sun. Around her, the skies were blue and the clouds were wispy white.  
  
"You are..." whispered Lina.  
  
"Yes..."  
  
"And why am I...?"  
  
"You know why."  
  
Lina looked puzzled. L-sama just smiled at her and with a wave of her hand, set the events in motion on earth that had seemed to have frozen when Lina noticed the Lord of Nightmare's presence.  
  
"Just watch," said L-sama. "That's all you're here for at the current moment. Just watch and learn..."  
  
So Lina turned around and watched in horrid fascination as the very story that was told to her when she was a small child unfold into its painful existence. Sure, she had been told about the Creation of the World, how L-sama had come down and created a world filled with both purity and with darkness, something she embodied. She had heard that both the Mazoku and the Ryuzoku had fallen, how they had turned against their creator and how they had turned against their purpose. Instead, they had disobeyed her rules and her laws. And while they decked it out in petty fighting and bickering, L-sama, disgusted with her older creation made a new one, one that was limited power wise. One that was limited in its dealings. One that was more fragile in nature. One that because of their frailty turned out to be an easy target for the superhuman powers the dragons and the demons showed.  
  
"Why did you even make humans?" asked Lina as she watched L-sama weep tears for the warps in her creation. L-sama looked up at her.  
  
"Do you regret the fact that I made humans and in the process, made you?" she asked. Lina was taken back a bit by the question.  
  
"No, no, nothing like that! I'm grateful for my life! It's been a wonderful life!" said Lina. After all, she didn't want to die. "But I'm just wondering, why did you make humans? Why did you start out with Dragons and Demons?"  
  
"Why does a child cut out paper dolls for herself? Why does a child draw eyes and a nose and a mouth, curly hair on the head and then make clothes for it?" asked L-sama rhetorically as she gripped her shovel.  
  
"A child?" asked Lina.  
  
"Yes, a child." said L-sama. She continued. "Why does everyone ask for the reason of their existence? Why do they want to know why, as if they, the individual, were so important to the continuation of life, to the end purpose of finding universal harmony? Does it matter why? Is it not enough that one is born, alive, is given their time on the earth to fulfill their purpose before they are called back to me? Is it not enough being satisfied with the simple answers? Why must one yearn for answers that are beyond the scope of their intellect?"  
  
"Are you talking about yourself also?" asked Lina. Then she realized that she had just questioned a god and hurriedly tried to make reparations, but L-sama waved them away. "Exactly," she answered.  
  
"Why do you question yourself?" asked Lina. Inwardly, she wondered... how had she known that L-sama was going through her own turmoils? This was too deep for Lina and she spoke yet again. "Surely, you are the goddess that created everything."  
  
"All things are created," said L-sama. "Even as I am created. We are all given our lot in life and it is our duty to make the greatest use from it as possible. We were not given life for it to be wasted. Life is meant to be lived. But some of us were born with greater responsibility. Some of us, were born not to ask the question of why we were born, but to answer it." At this statement, L-sama looked at Lina and smiled at her, giving her a warm look of pride and satisfaction. Lina backed away from the look, not knowing what to do.  
  
With no warning, L-sama reached out and tapped her on the forehead, and Lina felt her world explode.  
  
"Twice in one day is not good..." was Lina's last though as she fell into a faint within a faint.  
  
Lina had been moved from her place on the sofa to a bed. Gourry had gallantly offered to carry Lina, but Xellos insisted on helping and Zelgadis was in no way going to let Xellos out of his guard. Especially concerning Lina and his vision. The mirror had been clear... The mirror would cure him. But it had wanted Lina also, and he had a feeling that Xellos knew that too.  
  
As it was, Gourry carried her and Xellos and Zelgadis trailed after him. Gourry was about to draw a chair to sit by her and keep a watch when Sylphiel called to him asking for his help in some thing that she was doing. Amelia had already gone of to talk to Andreys about acquiring his collection of rare and antique furniture. Gourry left, knowing that Zelgadis would keep an eye on Lina.  
  
The people left in the room were three... two men and a lady, two humans and a Mazoku one chimera, one demon and one that Xellos was starting to realize demanded a much bigger explanation than just 'L-sama's chosen'. He would not let Zelgadis get in his way.  
  
"So, Zelgadis-kun," started Xellos as he made himself comfortable on the window ledge since Zelgadis had decided to take the chair beside Lina's bed. Zelgadis didn't even answer as he folded his arms in front of him. "Care to share what went on inside your head?"  
  
"No," said Zelgadis.  
  
"Why not, Zelgadis-kun?" asked Xellos in a sing song way.  
  
"Cause I don't want to tell you." answered Zelgadis simply.  
  
"You're so mean..." said Xellos as he walked over to where Lina lay on the bed and got down on the floor beside the bed.  
  
"What are you doing?" asked Zelgadis, watching him with suspicion in his eyes.  
  
Xellos just smiled at him in his own secretive way. A gloved hand reached out and took hold of a strand of Lina's copper tresses. His fingers caressed the silken texture of her hair and his amethyst eyes watched Lina's now blank face.  
  
For his part, Zelgadis wanted to kick Xellos out of the room and lock the door so that the Mazoku never came back. After all, they had no more need for Xellos... And now... what was that Mazoku doing? If Lina were up, she would have creamed him for touching her hair.  
  
"You know, Zelgadis-kun," started Xellos as he ran his fingers through her hair. "...that Lina Inverse is really a most amazing person?"  
  
"Get your fingers out of her hair, Xellos," said Zelgadis warningly.  
  
"Or else what?" asked Xellos. "Are you going to try to chop my arm off for being naughty?" He smiled. "Make a commotion? Interrupt the spell she is currently in?" Zelgadis just glared at him. With a smile, Xellos continued to play with her hair.  
  
"Anyway... Lina is really an amazing person, you know." His slitted eyes became even more slitted as he closed them slightly, as if reminiscing. "It'd be a... shame... if something were to happen to her..."  
  
"Are you threatening us?" asked Zelgadis. He did not like the way this conversation was going.  
  
"Me? Why would I do that?" asked Xellos as he smiled cheerfully. However, his eyes held a glimmer in them as he smiled. "After all, she is currently worth more to me alive than dead, after all."  
  
"Worth more....?" asked Zelgadis.  
  
"Yup!" said Xellos. And with that, he vanished from the room.  
  
Zelgadis leaned back and studied Lina's still form. Worth more.... whatever did that fruitcake mean by that? What had L-sama told him anyway? Why was Lina singled out every time? He had to be blind to not have noticed. He had never had so much excitement and met so many new and undesirable people than when he was with her. Never in his wildest dreams had he ever imagined himself as part of the team that went against Dark Eye, against Phibrizzio... against all of them.  
  
He had wondered about Lina before. After all, who wouldn't? How could he not, when it was all because of this tiny slip of a girl that his life was where it currently was. Had he not joined her, he wouldn't be here, so close to finally being human at last. Had he not joined her, he would not have met such undesirable denizens of humanity. But had he not known her, his life would have been so amazingly empty also.  
  
What was it with Lina Inverse, Sorceress Extraordinaire, Bane of Restaurants, Mazoku slayer, Demon Killer, a girl that not even Dragons would mess with, L-sama's Chosen.....  
  
L-sama's Chosen..... that was her new title, whether she liked it or not. Her Chosen... he sighed... why did all of this have to be so damn hard!!!!  
  
"Gourry-dearest!"  
  
He looked up and found Sylphiel standing in front of him.  
  
"What?" he asked.  
  
"Would you like to help me make supper for everyone?" asked Sylphiel.  
  
"Um... sure! Are you sure I won't be in the way?" he asked in a worried manner. Lina had always said that he was such a clumsy oaf... speaking of Lina.... he wondered what was happening with her? Why had she fainted after looking at herself in the mirror? It's not as if she were ugly and had scared herself... she was pretty after all. Even if she was a bit small. Even if she always beat him up. Even if she always hit him....  
  
"Gourry? Gourry? Gourry-dearest? Are you listening to me?"  
  
"Hm...?" asked Gourry as he was suddenly shaken awake by small hands grabbing his shoulders. He looked down and saw that it was Sylphiel. "Oh, hi Sylphiel! How can I help you?"  
  
Sylphiel sighed.... She should have been used to this, but well... she wasn't. Every once in a while, Gourry-sama would just... zone out on her and wouldn't say anything. As if his mind were far, far away.  
  
"I was wondering if you could go outside and grab me some firewood," she said with a smile. She could worry about Gourry's dear mannerisms later. Right now, she had a banquet to prepare for. She was assuming that Lina would be up in time for supper and cooking for those two always took lots of time and preparation. Well, not really. She just needed to cook a lot.  
  
"Sure Sylphiel!" said Gourry. "Anything I can do to help!" He beamed her one of his sunny smiles and went out the door. Sylphiel sighed as she etched that image of his smile into her mind forever.... he was just too dreamy....  
  
Walking around the shack, Gourry finally found a small lean-to that contained firewood. in neat stacked piles. He wondered when the Andreys guy had time to chop wood and stack it up. But then again, it looked like he did nothing much, so even chopping wood was probably exciting, right? After all, when he was a little boy, he loved to chop wood. He would pretend that the ax was actually a sword.... he smiled as he entered his dream world.  
  
However...  
  
On entering the lean to, he noticed that Zelgadis was there, sitting on the stacks of wood, looking pensively outside one of the small windows.  
  
"Hi Zelgadis!" said Gourry cheerfully as only he knew how.  
  
"Hello Gourry." answered Zelgadis.  
  
"I thought you were keeping an eye on Lina, weren't you?" asked the blonde.  
  
"I was." said Zelgadis. "But she will be fine."  
  
Gourry nodded. He trusted Zel. After all these years that they had spent together, he had learned to trust in Zelgadis's intuition and decisions, just like he had learned to do exactly as Lina said. He didn't need to hear her explanations or the theories. All she had to do was point him towards the enemy and he would go and fight. Lina made it all easy like that. And Zelgadis he knew he could trust in him. And he knew that Lina looked up to him and respected whatever Zelgadis said. Whether she followed his advice was a different matter, though...  
  
"What do you think of Lina?"  
  
"Huh?" asked Gourry as he was startled out of his thoughts. "You said something, Zelgadis?"  
  
"Yes." he answered. "What do you think of Lina?"  
  
"She's nice." said Gourry.  
  
"Anything else apart from that?" asked Zel. He was looking at Gourry with his hard stony blue eyes.  
  
"Well... she's not always nice, I guess. She can be mean too. And impatient. And..."  
  
"I know, I know, Gourry." said Zelgadis, interrupting him. "I didn't ask about her characteristics or her moods. Just... what do you think of Lina? Over all? What is the first thing you think of when someone says Lina Inverse?"  
  
"Eh... I don't know... I haven't tried that before..." said Gourry, a bit unsure of where all this was going.  
  
Zel sighed... he should have expected that response. If this matter weren't so serious, he would have dropped it right there and then. However...  
  
"Let's do an experiment, shall we?" asked Zelgadis.  
  
"OK!"  
  
"I'm going to say something and you're going to tell me the first thing that comes to mind, OK?" asked Zelgadis That was simple enough, hopefully.  
  
"Sure," said Gourry. "Sounds like fun! Sort of like those psi... psyk..psycho...."  
  
"Psychology, you mean?" asked Zelgadis.  
  
"Yes, that!"  
  
"OK, let's begin, then." said Zelgadis "Square." He gave him an easy one just to warm him up.  
  
"Meals!"  
  
"Pyramid."  
  
"Food." sweatdrop  
  
"Moon."  
  
"Cheese."  
  
"Lina Inverse."  
  
"Nightmare lady." said Gourry without a thought.  
  
"Nightmare lady?" asked Zelgadis.  
  
"Lina." answered Gourry. This was fun!!!!  
  
"Lord of Nightmares, eh?" thought Zelgadis. Out loud, he spoke, "Thanks Gourry. That's it."  
  
"No problem Zelgadis!" said Gourry. He beamed at him and stood in the middle of the room, unsure of what to do.  
  
"You were here to get wood." said Zelgadis, pointing towards the stack of wood that Gourry had collected earlier and had forgotten about.  
  
"Oh, thanks Zel!" Gourry smiled at him, grabbed the firewood and went out of the lean to, leaving Zelgadis to his thoughts.  
  
"L-sama, eh?" he said outloud to no one in particular.  
  
Black swirly inky tendrils of nothingness swirled around her....  
  
She had seen it all before.  
  
She recognized this area... the Astral Plane... To her surprise, she wasn't scared. Instead, she felt... liberated... free.... what else.... at home?  
  
"Home...?" she asked herself. She tried to look at her hands and found none. She found no body either. "OK.... this is getting really weird..."  
  
She tried to navigate the eerieness around her that she had called home. Why home? Why would anyone call this desolated area home? Well... not desolate.  
  
She could see... see so many people here. It was the busiest place ever... it was full of souls that traveled through time and through the ages... it was full of hustle, bustle, life and death... Home?  
  
"Yes... home..." she told herself. This had been the home she had gone in search of. This is what all her years of wandering and roaming had wanted to lead her. Back to her home. Back to where she belonged. And as soon as she realized that, she laughed. Manipulating the nothingness around her came to her easily. It was as if she had always known how to... and then temporarily forgot... and now she was back! Now she knew!  
  
With laughter, she flew around and bumped spectral elbows with the others who lived here. The monsters, the dragons, the souls, the spirits... they were all here. Finally, among her kind!  
  
"Don't get too excited. You can't stay here yet."  
  
She stopped abruptly and turned to face the golden aura in the Astral Plane.  
  
"L-sama!" she said quickly as she bowed down before her queen, her leader, her creator.  
  
"Welcome back."  
  
"It's good to be back! I forgot how much I loved this place."  
  
"But you have to go back now." said L-sama.  
  
"No! Why?" she asked.  
  
"You can't be here yet. Your job is not done."  
  
"Job?" Immediately, around her a flash of golden light appeared and disappeared as quick as it had come. And now she could see herself. She saw her white boots with fur trim. Her magenta body suit. Her white gloves. Her black and red cloak. Her black and gold shoulder guards. Her black headband. Her ruby eyes and hair. And she remembered. "Oh, yes... my job... but I don't want to go back! I'll forget who I am again!"  
  
"My child.... giving you to them is just as hard on me as it is on you.... but I ask you to have patience. You will one day return back to me, and on that day, you will not be forced to return anymore."  
  
"You promise?" The red eyes of Lina Inverse looked up at L-sama, gold meeting red.  
  
"I promise." she answered.  
  
"I resign myself to the will of my creator." she said as she knelt.  
  
L-sama touched her forehead and the magic around them... immediately, Lina's eyes widened in fright as she felt her very being torn apart.  
  
"No! No! Please, L-sama!!! I can't... it hurts so much..." cried out Lina as she curled herself into a fetal position. L-sama just watched on silently, watching part of her very essence ripped to shreds. As the human Lina Inverse, she could have no recollections of who she was and what her power was or what her purpose was. She just was.  
  
"Please, L-sama.... no!"  
  
Everyone heard Lina Inverse scream in denial halfway during supper. Everyone also dashed from the table at the same time to run up the room to see what it was that was happening.  
  
Xellos was the first to make it there since he had, technically, not left the room at all. He had just made himself invisible and occupied a small chair in the corner. He had actually been brooding. Yes,... brooding.. as in being pensively broody.... he had to make a report to Zelas soon, and L-sama knew how ticked off Zelas could be when she didn't get the information she wanted. He knew that the answer was right before him... plain and simple if he only knew what to look for. But he didn't know yet... and Zelas wanted results. He had almost been to the point of being exasperated. His plans with getting Zelgadis riled enough to peek into his thoughts had backfired and he was just there... brooding...  
  
But now, he was the only one to be able to watch first hand what had happened. He had seen the white light that seemed to have filled every pore of hers. He had seen the gold light that had surrounded her. He had seen the way she had levitated off the bed as she screamed. And he saw how she fell back on her bed and woke up, looking none the worse for wear...  
  
"Hm... this is interesting..." he thought to himself. He made sure his presence was erased from everyone's consciousness as everyone burst into the room.  
  
"Miss Lina!" shouted Amelia as she performed a flying tackle into Lina and hugging the living daylights out of her. "You're up!"  
  
"Lina, are you all right?" asked Gourry as he flew into the room, his sword drawn out, ready to take on the enemy that had made Lina shout. Zelgadis ran in behind Gourry, silent yet alert as usual. On seeing Lina awake and being suffocated by Amelia, he let his guard down. All was well. Gourry, too, noticed that there was no danger and sheathed his sword.  
  
"Amelia.... need... breathe..." said Lina as she struggled with Amelia's improvised chokehold/bearhug.  
  
"Oh! Oops! Sorry Miss Lina!" she said as she let Lina go. Andreys and Sylphiel came in as Lina was let alone to take a few deep breaths of air.  
  
"I'm glad you're awake, Miss Lina!" said Sylphiel.  
  
"Huh?" asked Lina. She suddenly realized that everyone was in her room and that they were all watching her intently, as if trying to observe something. "What?"  
  
"Don't you remember anything, Lina?" asked Zelgadis as he watched her.  
  
"Remember what?" she asked. This was puzzling her and Lina Inverse abhorred being puzzled.  
  
"You fainted when Xellos forced you to look at the mirror..." started Gourry.  
  
"...and fainted. You were asleep for most of the day!" finished Amelia.  
  
"It's already supper time." said Sylphiel.  
  
"Xellos? Mirror? Supper time? And no one woke me up!?" asked Lina, her eyes glaring at her friends.  
  
"Eh, but Miss Lina! You were asleep!" said Amelia.  
  
"That is no excuse!" said Lina. With that, she jumped off the bed. "Besides, I'm doing well!" She remembered the mirror incident and did her best to not shiver... it was all good. She had seen the mirror and she was still alive and coherent. Case closed... no need to talk about it. Best to get their minds off it too... "And I'm hungry!" With that, she staunchly walked out of the room, head held high.  
  
The others just shrugged their shoulders and followed her. If Lina said so... well then... who were they to object?  
  
That night... nothing too exciting happened. Not to say that nothing of importance ocurred... just that nothing too exciting happened. The moon was out, and it wasn't particularly memorable. Not full moon, not even new moon. No blue moon, no Cheshire cat smile moon. It was the moon after it was half full... the one that looked like an oblong shape. There were a few wispy clouds that looked dark blue in the dark sky. A few stars, and no memorable constellations. Over all, a night that not many would have remembered. And in this dark night, a few people took walks and a few had talks and then they all rested. Well... ok, not really.  
  
Andreys was taking a walk at night. After the huge supper that Lina had eaten, he had cleared the table and after making sure that everyone was sleeping, he had gone out. There was no need to wake them up. At least, not yet.  
  
Making sure that he was a distance from the cottage, he stood in the middle of an open field and concentrated. A small black light shone around him for a moment before it vanished.  
  
"My, my, never thought I'd ever see the day you would use that trick, ne, Andreys- kun?" asked a voice from off to his right side.  
  
"Don't bet on it becoming a regular thing." said Andreys as he glared at him.  
  
"So how can I help you?" asked Xellos. Andreys thought for a bit. He didn't quite know what he had been planning on doing, truth be told. After all, this was the first time he had magically called Xellos. Ever since that awful day when he had become cursed with his hybrid form, he had never thought he would do this... search out for Xellos willingly.  
  
"What's your plan?" he asked.  
  
"Plan?" asked Xellos, looking confused.  
  
"Yes... you lead them to the mirror, didn't you?" asked Andreys.  
  
"My dear friend Andreys," said Xellos. "Just because I tricked you does not mean I trick everyone you know. For your information, Princess Amelia found the spell all by herself."  
  
"I don't believe that." said Andreys. "You always have a plan no matter what you do."  
  
"What, you can't handle the fact that you got tricked by me? And now you think that I'm out to trick everyone?" Xellos smiled evilly. "You really don't get it do you? You think that you can control..."  
  
"Tell me!" said Andreys. "Or I swear,... I'm going to break the mirror right now!" He reached deep into his pocket and took it out. Xellos froze and the winds were silent for a few minutes.  
  
"You want to... break the mirror?" asked Xellos.  
  
"What is it to you?" asked Andreys. "Why do you want them to see the Mirror so badly?"  
  
"You would really... break the Mirror?" asked Xellos, a wry smile appearing on his face. Had it been any other face, it would have just looked condescending. On Xellos's face, however.... perhaps it was just the fact that Andreys already had preconceived notions of him... Whatever the reason, on Xellos... the smile just looked... unnervingly evil. "You would crack it, scratch it, mar it? Just to foil what you think are my plans?" His eyes glinted strangely in the slight moonlight. Andreys hesitantly took a step back and Xellos took a step forward.  
  
"I..." started Andreys, starting to sound hesitant. He hadn't expected Xellos to act this way...  
  
"You would face the wrath of a chimera who is this close to becoming human? The wrath of Lina Inverse as she levels you with her magic? The wrath of Xellos, Trickster Priest of the Lady Beastmaster?" His purple eyes glinted strangely again and Andreys found himself drawn into his eyes, as if he were falling down and down and down...  
  
"I thought not." said Xellos with a smile, as Andreys passed out. The Mirror fell from his fingers, but Xellos caught it neatly with a hand and put it in his pocket. With that, he smiled at Andreys and transported both of them away.  
  
Someone else was walking that night, in quite a different area and with quite a different purpose...  
  
Zelgadis just could not fall asleep. He had tried everything he could apart from sending a sleep spell on himself. However, he preferred not to do that... magic may be a common practice in these times, but it still felt unnatural to use supernatural means to just get himself to sleep. Which was why he was out in the freezing cold midnight weather, trying to get himself tired and worn out so that he could hurry up and go back to sleep in his warm bed.  
  
However, no matter how much he tried, he couldn't sleep. His mind wouldn't rest... it was busy thinking... thinking about so many possibilities. Take, for instance....  
  
"I wonder how I will look?" asked Zelgadis quietly to himself. Now, we all know that Mr. Zelgadis was anything but a vain person,... and in this case, he did have a valid excuse for wanting to know...  
  
Would he have dark skin from being in the sun so much? Or maybe light, since technically, his skin hadn't been in the sun... How about his hair? Still blue? Maybe black? Perhaps brown.... L-sama forbid...purple??? Would it look like Rezo? He sighed... this was getting dumb.  
  
But try as he might, he couldn't stop thinking...   
  
He had grown so accustomed to his looks that he almost felt like he was going to miss it.  
  
'No way!' he thought. He touched his wiry hair and bent it so that he could look at it... No more would he have to buy pliers to comb his hair. He could now bash his head against the wall when exasperated and not have to worry about his hair being stuck to it. His fingers trailed next to the pebbles studding his face. How many hours, days, months had he spent polishing the stones on his face? He wasn't vain. On the contrary, he abhorred his look. But just because he didn't like it didn't mean that he would just let it erode in the elements. There was such a thing as erosion. He had polished them whenever he could. He looked scary enough without having dull stones with algae and moss growing on them.  
  
Would he miss the stones on his face? The wire of his hair? He looked at the ground and saw the imprints his heavy feet made. Would he miss his footprints?  
  
"This is getting ridiculous." he said to the empty yard of Andrey's shack.  
  
"What is?" asked a soft voice behind him. Immediately, Zelgadis jumped in surprise and turned. He was surprised that someone had been able to sneak up on him... "Oh, it's you, Amelia."  
  
"Hi, Mr. Zelgadis," she said quietly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you in your thoughts..."  
  
"It's ok..." said Zelgadis. Hopefully she hadn't seen the weird way he had been touching his hair and face. She would think he was even more weird than he was! "When did you get here?"  
  
"Just now," said Amelia with a slight smile. "What are you doing up, Mr. Zelgadis?"  
  
"Zel." answered the chimera. At her puzzled look, he explained. "Just call me Zel. Most people do anyway."  
  
"What are you doing up, Zel?" asked Amelia as she tried out his name.  
  
"What are you doing up?" asked Zel, throwing the question back at her.  
  
"I couldn't sleep. And you?" she answered without missing the beat.  
  
"Same here." he said. Then he added some more. "Too busy thinking."  
  
Amelia walked up to him so that he was beside her instead of ahead of her and the two started to walk.  
  
"Thinking about tomorrow?" she asked. He nodded. What else would he be thinking about?  
  
"I don't think you should worry, Zel," she said. It felt unnatural to call him just Zel... but it inwardly made her pleased also.  
  
"There are lots of unknowns..." said Zelgadis.  
  
"Are you worried about whether it will hurt? Or how you will look?" asked Amelia.  
  
"You could say so." said Zelgadis, not really wanting to admit being worried about something that sounded so trivial.  
  
"Don't worry." said Amelia. "After all, we are all here for you! If anything goes wrong, Miss Lina will know what to do. And..."  
  
"And?" asked Zel.  
  
"...and.... I'm sure you'll look great, Mr. Zelgadis!" said Amelia, putting on a cheerful smile.  
  
Lina was scared... and Lina Inverse didn't scare easily. It wasn't as if there were some huge monster before her ready to tear her to pieces. It wasn't as if she was facing one on one with some unknown monster. It wasn't as if she could see the grotesqueness of her enemy. On the contrary... she couldn't see it, she couldn't feel it, and she couldn't remember it.  
  
She knew she had looked into the mirror. Everyone had said so, and that she had fainted in the process and after a few hours of being caught in the Mirror's spell, she had woken up screaming in denial. All she could remember were... flashes of color. There had been lots of black, and some gold, and it left her with fear and nothing else. There was nothing else to direct the fear to, and she dreaded falling asleep. She didn't want the dreams to haunt her. She did not want to risk the chance of seeing what had made her black out in her dream. She didn't want to deal with L-sama anymore. No more,... not now, not ever.  
  
Which is why she was here, sitting on the ledge of her window, looking at nothing in particular. Her bed was calling out to her. Her pillow yearned for her head... but she was scared. The almighty Lina Inverse was scared of dreams. Of perceptions from a brain that were not real. Of the mocking found in her own mind.  
  
'Gotta be strong,' she thought to herself. She had to be strong, for Zelgadis's sake, at least. He needed the mirror. 'It's his last chance.... his only chance. I can't make him miss it just because I'm scared...'  
  
Be strong... be brave.... get it over with. She took deep calming breaths. One breath, two, three... Her heart was slowing down. Good.  
  
'I just need to do this two more times...' she thought. 'One for turning the Soul Mirror into the Mirror of Reality and one to cast the final incantation so that Zelgadis will be changed.' She had been chosen as the one to cast the spell. She was, afterall, unfortunately, L-sama's chosen. She was the strongest. Amelia would have loved to, and in a way, she would have a part in it also. She was the back-up energy for the spell. A spell that would turn a chimera back into a human would require a lot of Astral energy. And it would be deadly if she ran out in the process. Zelgadis obviously could not supply her with power. Sylphiel... eh... no comment. So Amelia it was. But she, Lina Inverse, was the one who would actually open the channel for the magic to come through. She would be the one to actually chant the words. Chant the spell asking for L-sama's power... She shivered uncontrollably.  
  
'OK...gotta relax... don't think about her right now. Just...relax... relax... relax.' she told herself once more. 'After this, no more. Never.. no more Nightmare magic for me. After this... I will not have to deal with her ever again...' And that thought brought her joy. It would be her light at the end of the tunnel. It would be her hope, her strength, her guide. As long as she remembered that there would be no more, she would remain sane.  
  
Gourry looked up at the ceiling from the bed he lay on. He knew that Zelgadis was out and he didn't blame him. Poor guy probably had a lot to think about. So he had stayed silent while Zelgadis crept out of the room. Now,.. it was his turn to stay awake.  
  
The haziness of thought that usually surrounded him called out that he join it once more. Don't think, don't think, don't think. Just smile, relax, and all would be well. Just smile, and nod. Just nod and support. He didn't need to understand why things happened or how they occurred. All he needed to know was the goal and be told how to get there. The rest... it was just details.  
  
Life for him was never one to be thought about too much. Sure, there were those, like Lina and Zel who loved to know what made everything worked, who spent every moment of their being searching for why. To him... just details. If one was caught up too much in worrying about where the next meal was coming from, then you couldn't enjoy your current stew. If you asked yourself how things worked, you would not be able to appreciate the fact that it was there or that it was pretty. But Lina seemed to enjoy what she did and he let her. Him? He just followed. It made life so uncomplicated.  
  
As usual, he thought over what would happen tomorrow. Just the basics, nothing too detailed. They would wake up and have breakfast. Then Lina would cast a spell. And then she would cast another spell. Then Zelgadis would turn human. Then they would have lunch. Or maybe they would have lunch before that. Like a break in between spell casting. Then they would have fun... have a party with lots of food. It wasn't everyday you get to see Zelgadis as human. Although once he became human, it would be everyday he would get to see Zel as human. Oh well... whatever. They were going to celebrate. And then, they would say bye to Andreys, and Amelia would take all the furniture with her, and they would go back to Seyruun. And then....  
  
At this point, he stopped. What would happen then? He didn't know. So far, they hadn't planned on anything yet. Therefore, it must not be important. Whatever it was, Lina would tell him, of that he was sure. Lina always told him the important things to know. His ears picked up the slight creaking of the door as Zelgadis walked back in.  
  
Gourry smiled. Zelgadis made it back safely, so all was well. He fell asleep.  
  
Sylphiel sighed. Lina was on the ledge staring at something. Amelia was out taking a walk. So she was in bed. Thinking... thinking...  
  
'I think I shall tell Gourry dearest tomorrow.' she thought to herself. 'This time I will tell him!'  
  
She had this thought every night. So far, it hadn't worked out yet. Always, there was something occurring. And just when it was just the two of them by themselves, she would turn to speak to him and would find him either eating some food (this was when they were in the kitchen) or just staring vacantly at something. Every time she wanted to tell him just how much he meant to her, someone would stop by. Or he would go and do an errand. Or Lina would come in. And when Lina came in... she got everyone's attention. Even hers.  
  
'I shall tell him tomorrow,' she thought. 'I must be strong. Otherwise, he'll never realize.'  
  
Things were going so well now. Lina had woken up and had enjoyed her cooking. Lina enjoyed most people's cooking as long as it was free and had a decent taste, actually. She had spent some time in the kitchen with Gourry. Of course, he was drying dishes as she was washing them, but Zelgadis and Amelia had been there. Lina hadn't. She had gone straight to bed. And Andreys had just walked out. So there was no way of talking about it then.  
  
'Tomorrow.' she thought. 'I promise.'  
  
The next day dawned bright and early and the instant the first rays peaked over the hills in the east, Zelgadis found his eyes snapping wide awake. Not that this was an abnormal occurrence. After all, he was known for waking up at dawn. The others, on the other hand... didn't. Of course, today he had another reason to wake up early. It would be his last day as a chimera. His last!!! No more blue skin, no more stones and pebbles. Say hello to soft tanned, maybe, skin which was smooth of the touch and had the feel of body heat as opposed to the stones inner cold. Hello to wind chapped skin, blisters, sunburns and acne problems. He was actually looking forward to it.  
  
He quickly got out of bed and looked around. Gourry was asleep, snoring away peacefully, which was also quite usual. He walked out of the room and looked around to see if anyone else was up. As he walked silently through out the halls, he heard nothing. Finally making it to the kitchen, he half expected to see Andreys there, since he seemed to be the type of person who was up at the crack of dawn. Seeing the empty kitchen, however, soon made him change his mind. He sighed and turned around, deciding to go for a walk. Who was he kidding? As if anyone else would wake up early today... He didn't noticed the white sheet of paper on the table held down by a piece of fruit till later on.  
  
It was almost lunch time before everyone had woken up. Zelgadis found himself having to exert much self control just to not run up the stairs and pound on everyone's door till they woke up. However, he did not want to run the risk of a cranky Lina Inverse... specially since she was the one who was actually casting the spell. He shuddered, trying to imagine what a cranky Lina Inverse casting a spell on a mirror might look like. Thankfully, his mind blocked out the images.  
  
"Mr. Zelg... I mean.. Zel! Have you seen Mr. Andreys around?" asked Amelia as she ran up to meet him as he walked on the pathway towards the area where they were staying at.  
  
"You mean he's not up?" asked Zelgadis, looking confused.  
  
"He's not in his room, and his bed doesn't even look slept in!" said Amelia, her eyes worrying.  
  
Zelgadis frowned.... where had Andreys gone to? Without him, they didn't know where the mirror was and then he couldn't become a human. Dang... so close, yet so far, once again.  
  
"Miss Amelia!" shouted Sylphiel from the house. She waved a white sheet of paper. "I found a note from Andreys-san!"  
  
"A note?" asked Lina as she threw open the windows that led to Andreys' room where she had been searching for clues.  
  
"It was in the kitchen!" said Sylphiel. "I wanted to start lunch since you were all going to be pretty hungry after looking for Mr. Andreys."  
  
"Good job, Sylphiel!" said Lina. She closed the windows and ran down the stairs.  
  
"Actually, Gourry found it." said Sylphiel as they all met inside the kitchen.  
  
"Gourry?" asked Lina with surprise. "Wow... I'm amazed! Good job, Gourry!" Gourry smiled sheepishly.  
  
"It wasn't anything much," he said with a grin as he scratched the back of his head with a hand. "I was actually reaching for some fruit on the table and it was stuck to it. I almost ended up eating the paper!"  
  
The Slayers sweatdropped, but soon that was over as Zelgadis grabbed the sheet and read it.  
  
"What does it say?" asked everyone as Zel skimmed it. Zelgadis's eyes narrowed as he continued to read the note.  
  
"It says... that he had to run some errands last night that he remembered last minute and that he will not be back until tomorrow." said Zelgadis.  
  
"Oh no! And he's the only one who knows where the mirror lies!" said Amelia, looking sad and weepy.  
  
"No, he wrote where it's found," said Zelgadis. Lina looked at Zelgadis and saw his suspicious face.  
  
"Hey, you guys go look for the mirror." she said as she took the note, quickly skimmed it and gave it to Gourry and Amelia. "Sylphiel, you keep on with lunch." At this, Gourry and Amelia ran off to find the mirror, and Sylphiel moved over to the kitchen. "And you," she continued as she pulled on Zelgadis's arm. "Are coming with me." They moved to the outside porch where the two sat down for a minute as they contemplated the sky.  
  
"OK, so cough up. Why are you suspicious?" asked Lina after the silence lasted too long.  
  
"He doesn't seem to be the type of person who would forget errands to run. He doesn't seem to be the type of person to leave his home to a complete bunch of strangers." said Zelgadis.  
  
"In other words, he's not the type of person to leave a note saying that he's gone and to do as we wish, ne?" asked Lina.  
  
"Yeah." said Zelgadis.  
  
"Do you feel a trap?" asked Lina.  
  
"I don't know..." said Zelgadis. Lina looked up at him.  
  
"How come?" she asked.  
  
"I know the mirror will work. L-sama told me herself." he said. He mistook Lina's widening eyes as sign of her surprise that L-sama had spoken to him. Lina, however, found herself taking a big gulp of breath as she tried to calm her breathing. L-sama was involved?  
  
"So do you want to go ahead and cast the spell then?" asked Lina. "It's up to you. It's your body and I'm not going to be the one to tell you not to or to do so."  
  
Zelgadis closed his eyes. The sun was shining down on them, but try as he might, he couldn't feel the warmth of the sun's rays hitting his stone skin. This skin... it was made wrong. It was not made for feeling sunlight, or for interaction with the environment. It had no nerves that let him feel such delicate things. He could imagine it. He knew how it felt and at times deluded himself... but he knew it wasn't real. To feel real sun and wind on his skin...  
  
"Let's do it." he said.  
  
Lina nodded. There went her last chance at postponing the incantation. She had to do it now.  
  
"OK,... let's go and get it over with."  
  
"Ne, what do we do now?" asked Amelia after they had located the mirror.  
  
"First things first!" said Lina. "We should grab some lunch!" She put on a supremely cute face as she made her face look all excited. She had one more chance to postpone the inevitable...  
  
"No... let's do it now." said Zelgadis. Lina glared at him.  
  
"Why?" she asked.  
  
"I've waited too long for this."  
  
"Exactly," said Lina. "Thirty minutes won't harm you. You've waited so long, just hang tight for a bit."  
  
"Ano..." said Gourry as he supported Lina's decision. "I would like to eat too."  
  
"You would..." muttered Zelgadis.  
  
"What did you say?" asked an angry Lina.  
  
"Fine, do as you wish." he said, looking annoyed. By the time those buffoons were done, he might have been a human, had they started right now.  
  
"Eh... Mr. Zelgadis," started Sylphiel softly. "It might be better if Ms. Lina ate something to make sure she has strength."  
  
"Fine, fine... I said go ahead." said Zelgadis. He sighed... he should have known better than to fight against Lina's stomach. "How long is it going to take?"  
  
"Well, I still have to make the food... so I'd say we'd all finish eating in about an hour, if I start on the food right now."  
  
'I just can't win, can I?' thought Zel to himself as he nodded.  
  
Xellos watched from the shadows and sighed.  
  
'They're going to eat...., I should have expected that.' he thought to himself. He had decided to wait and act on his plan before going to Zelas so that he would have actual concrete results to show her. So this was going to be a surprise for her. He just had to wait for Zelgadis to do his move and then Lina would be all his... Well, metaphorically speaking.  
  
ONE HOUR LATER  
  
"You guys finished eating, yet?" asked Zelgadis as Lina and Gourry finally placed their plates down on the table. He himself had nibble and had finished about thirty minutes ago. So had most. Obviously, his sour-ish type of mood was enough of a killer of a mood for some people. And not for others as he eyed how Lina and Gourry had inhaled everything in sight and had not paid any attention at all to their surroundings except which dish was laid out where and whose hand was reaching out for their own food.  
  
"Just about," said Lina. She reached over the table and snagged a piece of fruit from the plate in the center of the table. Zelgadis waited impatiently as Lina inhaled the apple and then finally leaned back on her chair with a full and content expression on her face.  
  
"Well, I'm going to go wait in the other room while you finish eating." said Zelgadis sourly. He walked out of the room and plopped himself in the couch. The mirror was exactly where they left it, on the small coffee table.  
  
"Sheesh, what's his problem?" asked Lina as she stretched. "One would think today was actually the worst day of his life, and he's going to actually become human today!"  
  
"Um,... Miss Lina," spoke up Amelia quietly. "Maybe he's just worried about the spell and impatient because he has had to wait for so long."  
  
"Yeah, Lina." said Gourry. "And you were eating a bit slower than usual today also!" Lina sighed. Trust Gourry to recognize her eating patterns and speeds. Now that Gourry had slightly stood up to Lina, Sylphiel hurried to add her vote.  
  
"I'm sure he has waited for so long, that seeing you put food above his spell might have hurt him a little, Miss Lina." she said. Gourry nodded at her and smiled. It was true, after all.  
  
Lina sighed yet again. They were all against her, weren't they? However... she looked at the dishes that Amelia and Sylphiel were currently putting away. There had been inklings of truth in what they said. She had been pretty mean to him, and acting at a bit slower speed than usual.  
  
Without a word, she turned out of the room and settled herself to her fate. Before Amelia's, Sylphiel's, Gourry's and Zelgadis's eyes, she quickly moved back the furniture and arranged the chairs to the edge of the room. She even tapped silently on Zelgadis's shoulder to get him to stand up. As soon as he did, she had pushed the sofa all the way across the floor by herself.  
  
Zelgadis was shocked. Lina wasn't saying anything. He didn't know what had surprised him the most: the fact that Lina had a serious and pensive look on her face, or the fact that she was this strong to single-handedly move all the furniture in the room in less than a minute. Granted, there wasn't that much furniture, but the sofa was a bit on the heavy side.  
  
Lina took out a piece of chalk from somewhere on her body and proceeded to chalk up the room, drawing sigils and signs, circles and squares and triangles on the floor. All from memory. She had memorized the entire spell.  
  
The center of the room now contained the small mirror placed in the center of a white incantation circle. It was an amplification diagram and would help in making sure that Lina had enough energy to complete the spell. Off to one side, Zelgadis sat on the floor, his feet crossed and his eyes closed as he rested. Lina rested in the incantation circle at one of the corners of the five pointed star. She turned on her amplification amulets on and slowly began the incantation.  
  
Only a few minutes were needed for the Soul Mirror to become the Mirror of Reality. Upgrading the mirror was the easy part. The manuscripts that they had looked at had made it seem a lot harder than it really was, thought Lina as she looked up with a gentle smile. She then threw a piece of chalk at Amelia.  
  
"Draw out another glyph for Zelgadis, will you? I'm not leaving the circle for now." she said with a wry smile. Amelia glowed as she caught the chalk thrown to her. She hurriedly drew out the next circle exactly opposite to where Lina was sitting. This way, the three were all lined up: Lina, the mirror in the center, and now Zelgadis. The mirror had been placed in such a way that the reflecting surface would face Zelgadis.  
  
"You can look into it now, Zelgadis, but you won't actually see anything yet because it's not activated yet." said Lina. "It's like my talismans. They won't amplify power until I turn them on." Zelgadis had nodded and had stared at the cool and strangely gold face of the mirror.  
  
"Ready, everyone?" asked Lina to the room at large.  
  
'Let this work, please let this work...' thought Amelia as she stood in an auxiliary circle that was away from the main circle to provide back up should it be needed.  
  
'Human... I'm finally going to become human...' thought Zelgadis as he felt the power lines moving around them and finally concentrating on him.  
  
'Just hang in there, Inverse. No more after this. You're not touching Nightmare magic ever again...' thought Lina as she poured herself into manipulating the magic flows to not only turn on the mirror itself, but to provide her energy and power to change Zelgadis's chimeric form.  
  
There was no actual incantation for the spell. There was no ballad, no sonnet, no excerpt of blank verse that accompanied the spell. The room was silent as all the viewers only saw Lina the glowing of the lines of chalk, as if fire had started one line and was now running through the rest of the marks, giving forth it's golden glow.  
  
"Is Lina asleep?" asked Gourry to Sylphiel as he watched Lina sitting crosslegged in her circle, her face oddly calm and worry free. Usually, when Lina cast lots of magic, she had on a violent face, full of strength and spirit that seemed to shout. Now, she was just quiet.  
  
"No, Gourry-dear," said Sylphiel softly. Amelia had turned to look at them and had put a finger to her lips getting accross quite clearly that they were to remain as silent as possible. "Miss Lina is concentrating on magic. So that Zelgadis can become human." She tried to speak as clearly as possible so that Gourry wouldn't be confused any more and that way, not ask questions.  
  
They settled down to watch the show... for better of for worse, here went the spell.  
  
Fin Chapter 2  
  
Author's notes....  
  
Eh... sorry about the really looooooooong delay. Bet you all thought I was dead, eh??? xD Well, this was gonna be only 2 parts, and then I realized, by the time I got to writing this again) that there was a bit more I needed to write before ending... xD  
  
So... it's gonna be three parts long... xD  
  
Hope you enjoyed it and that it was worth the wait. If not... eh.. I'll try better for chapter 3, eh? As it is... chapter 3 is like... 1/6 done. Or something like that. xD  
  
Jru 


	3. Reflection

Firefly Magic presents...

Another Weird Anime Fanfic Production

Written by Jru

**Slayers: Reality**

**AKA Last Quest**

**Part III: Reflection**

Timeline: After Slayers Try

Quick notes before we start: eh... looks embarrased I did it again, didn't I? Sorry it took so long... T.T Here's the last chapter. It's the last chapter because it actually ends here. Hopefully you will like it. Hopefully, it was also worth the wait...

* * *

**Last chapter...**

There was no actual incantation for the spell. There was no ballad, no sonnet, no excerpt of blank verse that accompanied the spell. As far as L-sama was concerned, if you needed the crutch of words to help you focus, then maybe you weren't up to trying her more complex spells. The room was silent as all the viewers stared at the glow of the lines of chalk, as if fire had started on one line and was now running through the rest of the marks, giving forth its golden glow.

"Is Lina asleep?" asked Gourry to Sylphiel as he watched Lina sitting cross-legged in her circle, her face oddly calm and worry-free. Usually, when Lina cast lots of magic, she had on a violent face, full of strength and spirit that seemed to shout. Now, she was just... quiet.

"No, Gourry-dear," said Sylphiel softly. Amelia had turned to look at them and had put a finger to her lips getting across quite clearly that they were to remain as silent as possible. "Miss Lina is concentrating on magic. So that Zelgadis can become human." She tried to speak as clearly as possible so that Gourry wouldn't be confused any more and that way, not ask questions.

"Ah. Cool," said Gourry.

* * *

Lina grumbled to herself as the spell took its form around Zelgadis. It was going so painstakingly slow... the glow had barely begun to cover Zelgadis' fingertips. She assumed that whatever the light covered would be changed. But there was the rest of his body left! 

'Dang,... this is going to take forever...' she told herself. Lina, being Lina, did not like that. Her type of spells allowed for concentration, that was a given. However, the spell itself would come quickly. Like her fireball! Think the incantation to herself, summon up the energy, throw it out. Bam! Just like that! Or like her Dragon Slave. It was quick, easy (well, not too easy) and to the point. None of this sitting around waiting for gold light to... she opened her eyes a fraction. The light had now covered one of Zelgadis' wrists. Yay. Not. At this rate, she was going to fall asleep casting the spell...

She looked at the magic she was gathering. She knew there was a way to make it quicker. There was definitely a way to make this more magically efficient. It was like a puzzle, a challenge someone had thrown before her. And she, Lina Inverse, Sorceress Supreme, was good at defeating challenges. Her shut eyes tightened in concentration as she studied the magic she was using. So deep in thought she was that she totally forgot what type of magic she was dealing with. All her worries and fears of having to handle Nightmare magic flew out the window as she smiled and started to play with the spell a bit, changing a nuance here, raising the force here, twisting the order of the casting... She was in her own world, a world where she understood everything. A world where she could see how magic worked. A world she deeply loved to be in. Her world. Her magic.

"What's happening now?" whispered Gourry into Sylphiel's ear. She smiled to herself and tried to make her leaning into him not as obvious as she too puzzled what was happening before them. Amelia was looking worriedly at Zelgadis and with good cause. The magic Lina had been generating was working, they could feel that. But it had been so slow, so torturously slow. Watching molasses being poured into another bottle was more exciting, and she had done that many times in the kitchen. However, the magic around the castor and the castee had suddenly surged and she saw the spell go from being slower than molasses to actually a respectable speed for a body transmutation. That is... it was faster. Period.

"I don't know, Gourry," she said softly. Lina was smiling softly and Sylphiel couldn't find it in herself to worry while the spell caster looked so peaceful. "The spell seems to be reacting faster. But Lina looks like she's in control so I wouldn't worry."

"So Lina's making all those pretty lights? Very neat." said Gourry and he resumed to watch the light show.

* * *

...and then all you have to do is fix this, turn this around.... watch the inflection... there. done...

Lina smiled.

* * *

With a great and final flash of light that covered the whole room, Lina finished the spell. Her last thoughts before her unfocused eyes slid shut was that she wouldn't even be able to see the final product of her greatest feat of curative magic. With that, she swayed a few times, to the right, left, right again, and then promptly fainted backwards.

There was shouting and screaming in the room and panic broke out. In the other circle, smoke and light still poured out of a radiant sphere that encompassed Zelgadis's form. Amelia felt herself torn in two trying to figure out whether she should go run to Lina or run to Zelgadis. However, Gourry quickly made her decision for her.

"Go check on Zelgadis!" he said as he pushed the two girls to the sphere. "I'll check on Lina!" Amelia nodded and ran to see if there was anything wrong. Sylphiel ran to the windows and quickly opened them to shoo out the smoke and haze that seemed to have filled the room. Slowly the smoke cleared and Sylphiel dimly saw Amelia's vague form silhouetted against the diminishing glow of Zelgadis's figure. The light soon stopped shining, and her eyes stopped hurting as they had before. She could hear Amelia's gasp, coupled with hers as Gourry looked up to see what was the matter. All three of their eyes were trained on the one still inside the receiving side of the spell.

"Mr...Zelgadis...." started Amelia. She broke out into a huge grin as tears threatened to leave her sparkling eyes. "You're... you're..."

The figure moved slowly, as if unsure if he were asleep or awake. His eyes were closed as if afraid to see what was outside, and in a way, he was. Slowly, he opened his eyes. And just as slowly, he brought his hands up to his face.

"I'm... I'm..." he stammered, trying to collect his thoughts. His eyes widened at the sight before him. "I'm..."

"You're human, Zelgadis!" cried Amelia as she hugged him in a flying tackle.

* * *

Lina had been put upstairs into the room she was staying in. The young sorceress seemed to have spent herself performing the magic, and despite the excitement of Sylphiel's and Amelia's squealing, Lina did not wake.

"She'll be fine," said Sylphiel after Gourry had placed her in her bed. Zelgadis stood beside Gourry, hesitantly fingering his new skin while Amelia beamed from her place beside him. She was proud to be part of this team. And she was the one who had found the scroll and the spell in the first place! She was so happy, so proud, so ecstatic. And Mr. Zelgadis hadn't minded the hug. In fact, in a rare act of kindness, he had hugged back. For a bit anyway. "She's just exhausted."

"Are you sure, Sylphiel?" asked Zelgadis. His respect for Lina Inverse had gone sky-rocketing during the whole spell casting. He had felt the massive amount of magic she had generated and so carefully and expertly channeled onto him despite the fact that she was more comfortable destroying everything in sight rather than healing. He really needed to thank her. However, waking up a tired Lina would probably result in a cranky Inverse that would have no qualms in bashing him. And worse now, since he didn't have his tough stone skin to protect him. No, he had real skin. Real flesh colored, soft... Skin with which he could feel and be felt. Hair that moved with his body motion instead of staying... rock-still.

"She just needs to sleep. And I'm sure that she'll be extremely hungry when she wakes up," said Sylphiel. "She used up a lot of energy in the spell and it has momentarily depleted her of strength. Sleep is all she needs."

"Are you sure?" asked Gourry. He hovered around the bed, nervously tucking the blanket in here and smoothing out a wrinkle over there. Lina seemed to be resting peacefully on the bed, her slow breathing reassuring him that she was not facing danger.

"Yes, I'm sure," said Sylphiel. Her smile seemed strained for a bit before it calmed down a bit. Yes, even she was a bit worried about Lina, but her healer talents let her know that Lina was in no immediate danger. However, seeing that her companions were still worried, it was time for drastic measures. She had to get their minds off Lina so that they could leave her in peace to recuperate. "How about you all help me make supper. Like I said, Lina is going to be famished! We can even prepare a celebration for Mr. Zelgadis!"

The other three nodded.

"You're so smart, Sylphiel," said Amelia. "Of course Lina is going to be hungry. She always is, and this time, it's going to be even worse than usual." With that, Sylphiel closed the door and the three left Lina in peace.

* * *

Xellos smiled to himself as he looked at the dozing form of Lina Inverse on the bed before him. Fools that the others were, they had just left her here, almost as if they had forgotten his presence. Oh wait, they just did. Which was good, since it made everything so much easier.

They shouldn't have just left her all by herself. There was no one to help her now. And there would be no one to fight against him. With a smile, he carefully put away the mirror he had so carefully swiped after the spell had been cast into his pocket and arranged a grid of magic lines over her body carefully. His work done, he settled himself on a chair and waited for his prey to awake. Once she was up, the fun would start. And once he was through with her, Zelas-sama would be definitely more than satisfied with her pet.

* * *

Lina felt consciousness slowly creep back to her as she relaxed on the warm bed she was laid in. Concentrating on her surroundings, she assumed this had been the bed she had slept in last night, the unique fragrance of the wood reaching up to greet her. The covers were familiar also, as was the particular shape of the pillow her head rested on.

She gave a sigh as she let herself rest on the bed. She remembered with clear vividness what had happened. She had thought the spell went too slow, as Zelgadis' change seemed to creep up his skin inches at a time. So she had... seen... how the magic worked and had somehow changed the magic lines. She had been able to focus the magic, to control it, to wield it as if she had been born to use it. It had been exhilarating, that was to be sure. It had been downright scary, she now thought, as she remembered with how much ease the manipulation of Nightmare magic had come to her. She remembered her vow to never touch Nightmare magic again, yet she found herself almost wishing she hadn't been so rash. Surely, there was some good use, right? After all, that one tantalizing moment full of power had filled her with such elation. Black magic had never given her that feeling before, nor had white or shaman.

'No,' she thought to herself. 'Be firm. No more,... it still scares me. No more Nightmare magic, no more chaos, and no more L-sama, Inverse! Be strong!' This inward statement of truth, this resolution that came over her strengthened her resolve and she finally found herself relaxing. She would be fine. No more worries, no more stress, because from now on, she would never ever have to see L-sama again.

That having been decided, she sunk back into the covers as she thought of Zelgadis. She hadn't even been given a chance to see her work before her body decided to shut down on her. So how did he look like now? She wondered which look Amelia preferred: the chimera or the human? She should get up now, and offer them her congratulations. After all, after such a magnificent transformation, they were probably having a party down there, right? Besides, her nose was telling her that another marvelous Sylphiel Culinerary Creation was on its way. With a smile, she told herself that it was about time she got up. And with that, she did.

Or at least, she tried to. Covers that had once seemed so light and comforting suddenly became heavy and imposing and gave her the feeling of being held down by an amazing amount of weight.

"What in the world..." came out of her mouth as she popped open her eyes and found herself staring into amethyst eyes that smirked at her. Lina did the only she could think of at the present moment on finding someone invading her personal space. "FIREBALL!" she shouted, but found her hands unmovable and found no familiar feeling of magic anywhere near her persona, except for.... she froze. It was magic that was holding her down, was it not? And with that, Lina Inverse began to panic.

* * *

Xellos found himself chuckling. A calm Lina waking up from a deep faint hadn't been in his plan, but had actually ended up adding a lot more to the pathos of the scene. Here was Lina-chan, resting on her comfortable bed, just to realize when she tried to get up, that she couldn't. He made a sad face with puppy eyes before he broke out with a smirk. Such delicious contrast. Such tangible irony. And here, she had just noticed that she couldn't cast not even the smallest of a fireball. The anger in her eyes was thrilling and the small hint of panic that began was tantalizing, teasing him to keep on.

"Lina-chan," he said, watching her shoulders tense and her eyes snap wide open. "It's so nice of you to finally wake up. I was starting to wonder when you would do so, you know?" He walked over to the bed and leaned over so that Lina could see only him as he blocked out her sight of the rest of the room. Lina struggled beneath him as she tried to break the magical bonds that had her chained to the bed. "Now, now, don't panic Lina. We should be done soon and you will not have to worry about this again. Now, do stop struggling, it's quite useless to get free."

"What did you do, you bastard?" asked Lina as she still tried to move.

"I just tied you down magically, Lina-chan." said Xellos as he smiled, as if here were a small kid on Christmas Eve, ready to open presents. "Can't you tell?"

"Tied....?" asked Lina as she froze.

"Yes... tied..." said Xellos, savoring the feel of the word. "As in you can't move. You can't escape, and you couldn't even scratch the itch on your wrist if you had one. That type of tied."

"Since... when?" asked Lina as she felt his words sinking into her. Her magic wasn't working, and her movements had been easily restricted.

"Since they left you here and forgot all about you..." said Xellos trying to look sadly at her but failing miserably as the corners of his mouth turned up in a smile.

"Not that, baka. Since when could you do this?" growled Lina. "Did Zelas send you to trick us?"

"Oh, this little trick?" asked Xellos in a bored tone of voice. "I've always been able to do it."

"What?" asked Lina, looking surprised. She pulled at her bonds one more time. 'Keep level headed, Inverse. You've gotten out of stickier situations before. Just stay cool and collected and get as much information as you can from him while he's in a talkative mood.' For indeed, she was almost surprised that Xellos was even telling her this much. "Why didn't you use it before?"

"It's so boring when you know exactly what someone will do because they obey your every order, Lina-chan." said Xellos as he leaned in closer to her. "It's so much more fun when you manipulate them without strings. Let them fall from their own mistakes and assumptions, don't you think so? After all... to control them like how I'm controlling you now,..." He snapped his fingers and Lina found her arm lifting up to hold Xellos' hand. "...is like playing with dolls. Entertaining at first, but not quite enough for the master puppeteer like me."

Lina swallowed hard as she watched her left hand act naturally, curl and curve, clench and straighten as Xellos smiled at her. If Xellos could have done this all along, and had not.... but that begged the question of why now? Why her? Oh... and the most important question, obviously. What in the world was happening?

"You're nervous... it's quite lovely." said Xellos suddenly as Lina's hand went up to curl around his cheek. Lina's eyes widened and she tried to yank her wayward hand away. To her dismay, Xellos still had firm control of her and from the look in his eyes... She found herself shivering as she saw the intensity in his gaze.

"Let me go, Xellos," she said, hoping her voice did not sound as worried as she was feeling.

"Such bravery," he murmured into the palm of her hand as he momentarily closed his eyes. "Yes.... did you know, Lina-chan, that your feelings are most exquisite? For example... now... you try to put up a brave front, knowing how much I love to feel fear. Yet not even that hides it from me. In fact,... it makes your fear even more tangible."

"Fear, don't make me laugh, Xellos..." said Lina as she put a laugh into her sentence. Dang it... she had to try harder...

"And yet you do fear, Lina-chan, and with good reason." said Xellos. He smiled lazily at her and winked. "After all, there is something terrifying, morbidly awful, about finding yourself at the mercy of another. To know that despite your wishes and your self control, despite what you want... all that will happen is what I wish. And you can't stop it." He moved her hand so that it was nuzzling his neck, and he murmured appreciatively as Lina found her hand giving him a neck rub. "Ah... that hits the spot, Lina-chan! You're so good at this!"

"You know I'm not..." started Lina but Xellos just waved his forefinger at her.

"You may think so, but the fact of the matter is, it's your hand that is pleasuring me." whispered Xellos in such a way as to state the most basic belief.

"But you're the one who is controlling it!" said Lina angrily.

"Ah,... anger. I was wondering when that one would show up." said Xellos. With another wave of his hand, he raised her left arm so that it reached up in such a way as to seem that Lina had her arms around his neck in a more than friendly manner. He leaned over her, floating above her in a restful pose, facing her completely. Lina's eyes widened as she took in their new situation and hurriedly tried to pull her arms away from Xellos.

For a moment, her left arm moved and she found her heart leaping with hope. However, that soon crumbled away as she watched her hand, once so familiar to her, act as if it were not her own. She saw her own fingers curl on their own, carefully stroking his chest.

"Ah... that one was delicious." said Xellos as he leaned into her touch. "Hope giving way to despair. Always one to arouse one's hunger for even more." With a lazy smile, he shifted them so that Lina was sitting comfortably on his lap as he leaned against the headboard. "You sure know how to rile up a Mazoku, Lina-chan." He whispered huskily in her ear as his hands tightened against her and ran his fingers through her hair.

"I mean it, Xellos, let me go!"

"Or else what, you'll scream?" asked Xellos. He gave a small laugh. "That's so cliche, Lina. Damsel in Distress screams and shouts for help. Not going to work. If you think about it, compared to controlling your every movement, soundproofing a room is nothing to a being such as myself. Go ahead. Scream if you want to. It'll actually be fun if you do."

Lina resolutely shut her mouth. She didn't know how good his controlling spell was, but if he was able to control her like this, he may even be able to control her voice. Dang it! Besides, she strained her ears but try as she might, she currently could not hear anything else beyond the room. It was like being trapped in a different reality, apart from everyone and far from help. If she wanted to get out of this mess, she'd have to do it on her own.

"I'll take your word for it," said Lina as she maintained her cool exterior. She just had to bluff it, pretend she knew that it would all be OK. Confidence... she was the indomitable Lina Inverse.

Xellos frowned slightly as he watched Lina ponder her situation. She was too composed for his liking. He would definitely prefer it if Lina did a little more fear, a bit of angst, some despair and a lot of hope becoming ashes type of feeling. That would be very nice. So, time to do what Mazoku do best.

"Do you know, Lina?" he asked as he placed his chin on her shoulder. "You're famous in the Mazoku realm."

"No kidding," said Lina. "After all, I did kill of a bunch of you. Wouldn't that be more like infamous?"

"Do you know, Lina?" he asked again, using repetition to add mystery to his words. "...exactly how famous you are?"

Lina tried not to shudder when he put his arms around her waist.

"Do you know..." he asked into her ear. "...exactly how many Mazoku wish they could own you? Brag to the others saying that they had their way with you? Experience the pride of being the one to have broken Lina Inverse?" Lina froze. She definitely did NOT like the direction this conversation was going.

"Do you know..." he asked once more. He could feel it. Her first stirrings of panic. Like a tease, it encouraged him to coax it into all out fear. "...how many Mazoku have begged Beastmaster for permission to touch you?"

Lina gulped. This was NOT looking good.

"Do you know..." he asked one last time. "...how many times even I begged for the honor of taking your body?" He breathed into her ear and he could feel the tense fear that coursed through her being. "Of being the one to take you and claim you and make you mine?" He nipped her earlobe and she gave a shuddering gasp. "No, you wouldn't know, would you, Lina Inverse?"

He took a hand and used it to gently turn Lina's head around so that she s facing him. His touch was light and she felt her neck move of her own olition in a slow way, easing out the seconds that seemed to become ears to Lina's sense of time.

No, no, no, no, no...' she thought to herself as his purple hair me into view and finally, his slitted gaze. He brought her face closer to her, so achingly close. Her mind reached out for her magic, any spell, whether it be as simple as a light spell or as destructive as her Dragon Slave. She just needed one at her fingertips to get him off of her. Her mind was working overdrive as spells flew before her eyes. None of them would have worked... except...

She had Nightmare magic. But she had sworn never to use it again. She had told herself that never again would she open up this one drawer in the room of her spells. But if there was a type of magic that Xellos couldn't counter, it was this... L-sama's magic.

'Please, L-sama.... this is the last time I'll use your magic.... but help me!' she thought to herself. Not even Xellos' magic should be able to stand to L-sama's Nightmare attacks, right? Her eyes widened as his lips seemed to draw closer and closer to hers. She tried backing up, leaning her head back, but to no avail. Chaotic thoughts swirled through her mind as she saw his hands move up from the corner of her vision.

'You want to hold me? Mock the sanctity of a kiss by making it look like you enjoy it? Like I enjoy it?' Her mind reached out for her magic like a person might reach out for a book on the shelf behind her. She knew exactly where it was, and how it felt. She just had to get her mind's arm there and.... there,... she had it. Thank L-sama... this would be the last time, she swore.

"Get away from me!" she shouted out to him and with that, she pushed against him, trying to form a magical aura to shield him from her. To her amazement, it worked.

Xellos' eyes widened in amazement as he felt a force almost physically push him back. His grip on the mirror that he had begun to draw out of his cloak tightened so as not to drop it and he quickly put it back. Quickly he tightened his spell on Lina. He inwardly cursed, knowing that since Lina knew she could penetrate his defenses, she would not hesitate in making use of the fact.

"That was not nice, Lina-chan!" he said as his smile got bigger. His eyes closed on reflex and had he been anyone else, the growing smile would not have chilled Lina so much.

"Well tough," said Lina, energy and strength coming back into her voice. "You can't hold down the untamable Lina Inverse. You should know that better than anyone else!" She quickly began gathering the waves of Nightmare magic that she found in her. Part of her was thrilled. The pure energy that was found was intoxicating. More so than she ever had realized. For a brief moment, she forgot about the dangers of wielding Nightmare magic.

Xellos almost cursed out loud. Lina had closed her eyes, her face a study of ecstasy as she prepared to set herself free. This was not good. He had to get her to open her eyes and he had to be quick. Either that, or he had to slow her down. Or he had to distract her.

'Well... hopefully, Zellas will forgive me,' he thought to himself and he chuckled.

"You're too ingenious for your own good, Lina Inverse." he said out loud. Mentally, he added, 'But not ingenious enough.'

With one hand gently holding her chin he tilted it up and placed his lips on hers. Just because Lina had managed to find an escape route out of his spell didn't mean that there weren't any other ways to force her movements.

Lina's thought process slowed to an amazingly quick halt. All thoughts of magic left her mind and her hands stopped gathering the power as her brain took in the sensations of being thoroughly and deeply kissed.

To Xellos' credit, he was good at distracting the opponent. He knew what techniques to use and he knew how to apply them. A normal kiss would not have silenced Lina Inverse. A quick one would have caused her to fume endlessly and gather even more energy. A simple kiss would definitely not do. To get past her defenses, to cause a mental shutdown, to force her to forget about magic, something that was so deeply ingrained into her,... it was a difficult task. But Xellos was a good kisser. And he knew it. And he knew that Lina now knew it.

Her body was still rigid and in shock. But she wasn't struggling. He slowed down a bit, tried to finish the kiss as romantically as a Mazoku was able to and drew away. Her eyes blinked rapidly before they focused on his grin.

"You... you.... you just..." started Lina. He grinned. Perfect. Loss of speech, loss of thought, loss of reaction...

"Sorry, Lina. No time for chit chat." he said. With that, he reached into his pocket, placed the mirror before her eyes and quickly activated the spell.

Lina's eyes hurriedly shut, but to no avail. She cursed inwardly as she felt L-sama's magic from the mirror begin again, this time on her.

"Darn you, Xellos, you planned all of this, didn't you!" she said. He relaxed his magical and physical hold on her and Lina finally found herself with freedom to move. She shoved him away forcefully and tried to block out the magic that was reaching out to her. She could almost see its tendrils coming from the mirror, several wispy auras circling around her and soaking into her.

"Nothing personal, Lina," said Xellos as he prepared himself for the fireworks. "Not that I wouldn't mind taking it a bit further, but orders are orders. Maybe after this, Zelas will let us play."

* * *

They were summoning her. Her time in this prison was over. She was free to go. Free... free from this mortal shell. Free to show her true power instead of acting like a tall hunching giant in a room of short people. She could go... With a tinkling laugh, she reached out for her powers and drew them around her. She enveloped herself in her magic, like a small kid might burrow under a warm comforter during winter. She was back and now, with no mortal body that locked her in, she left. Humanity was interesting, but not even those interesting feelings stood a chance as her memories of her Astral Plane came back.

* * *

Xellos had to close his eyes tight as the power suddenly exploded in the room. His hair flew back from him and his clothes ruffled in the arcane wind that had surrounded Lina Inverse. He was surprised, to say the least. He couldn't remember right off the top of his head when the last time he had been this surprised was. Maybe it was that time... no... it wasn't. Cause he remembered at least opening his eyes when she had... Whatever. He just hadn't been this surprised in a long time.

Lina was screaming. He could hear that. Good thing he had sound-proofed the door. Had her companions heard her, they would have burst in on him. And while it was a little too late for them to do anything, it would distract him from what truly mattered: Lina Inverse.

Lina had been shocked when he had placed the mirror into her face. But it had worked. She had looked and it was too late for her. Sure, down there, when performing Zelgadis's spell, it had taken her a few cute circles and stars drawn with chalk. However, he was a Mazoku, and Mazoku didn't use... chalk. For one, it left his fingers dirty and L-sama knew how much he hated getting them contaminated. No, Mazoku didn't use chalk. Besides, in this case, he had Beastmaster's back up and could quite easily activate the 'on-switch' of the spell. It's great cheating when you're a Mazoku...

Her eyes were most interesting to watch. Eyes that had been shut tight with determination were now open and staring in an unseeing manner at him. He watched himself reflect in pools of blood red that flickered between it's normal color and speckled gold. Her mouth was opened lightly, looking oh so tempting and her expression of one trying to find eternity in themselves. Lost, blank and totally out of focus.

Yes,... he was going to get at her secret, that was for sure. And Beastmaster would be extremely proud of him. Oh so proud...

His thoughts were interrupted as he noticed that Lina's eyes had lost their blankness. In his one moment of contemplation, he had missed the change in her eyes, going from ruby red to molten gold. He frowned at that. Gold colored eyes were lovely, but they didn't suit her at all. They reminded him too much of that one time when Lina had been fighting Phibrizo.

"Trickster Priest Xellos..." said Lina. Her voice was strangely melodic and calm. He hadn't expected such an in-control voice from her.

"Lina?" he asked. Her hair was different too, he noticed as he slowly took in her details. It was still red, but there was a golden shimmer in it before that he hadn't noticed. It made her already full red hair look stunningly beautiful. Her yellow eyes kept on looking at him with such a serious look that he knew that this wasn't Lina he was talking to anymore. Hm... interesting... so Zelas had been right after all.

She stared at him in silence. No, this couldn't be Lina. After all, Lina wasn't this submissive. Actually, Lina wasn't acting submissive. Her very silence evoked a strong presence and feeling of power that Xellos had never ever felt before. It was more real and overpowering than even Beastmaster's presence. He had a bad feeling about this.

At his question, 'Lina' almost seemed to smile. Not in the cheery way that Lina smiled after beating up bandits, nor in the wicked way while she was planning the demise of the fried chicken before her. It was a smile so unlike her that looked even more out of place considering the fact that NO ONE looked at Xellos in a condescending way.

"Lina...." she said. Another smile. "Almost, but not quite."

"Who are you?" he asked. This was it. This was the part that Beastmaster was after.

"You really want to know?" she smiled. "Zelas really wants to know, does she?"

Xellos didn't know how to answer that question. He hadn't exactly planned on how he was going to interrogate Lina after the Mirror incident. He had expected.... something different. His plan on capturing Lina unawares had popped out of nowhere and now... well... he'd just have to wing it.

"Your presence has been summoned by the will of Beastmaster Zelas," he said smoothly. "You may of course, appeal to have the decision revoked, but really, Zelas would not like that." The Lina figure looked down condescendingly at the Mazoku from her floating position. Her own Lord and Master was but a thought away from her and she already knew her duties, her obligations and the response that was fitting of a being such as herself.

It only took a flick of her hand, a small waving gesture, but it was enough to send him flying back and hitting the wall of the room they were in. He shook his head and smirked at her.

"I see that part of you is Lina-ish..." he said. "Very well. I guess I can't play nicely with you now, can I?" He stood up and reached for the staff he always had hidden on him. Another blast pushed him back against the wall again, this time with such force that he saw something drop from his cloak and shatter onto the wooden floor. A flash of light later and the unconscious form of Andreys appeared on the floor.

"So that is where the keeper of the mirror was," she said to herself. She then proceeded to unlock the door and remove the sound-proofing that Xellos had placed on the room. "I shall now take my leave. Good-bye, Priest of Beastmaster."

"Don't think you can leave that easily," said Xellos as he teleported out of sight and behind her. "If you think I'm going to let you escape that easily..."

"You can do nothing to me, Trickster Priest," she said coldly as she smoothly turned around, ducked the blow from his staff and pushed him hard against the door of the room, his head banging against the doorpost.

"Don't be so sure of that," he said as he launched a volley of spells at her. She smiled impishly at his delusions of grandeur. He seriously thought he could defeat her. Of course, he also seemed to think that she acted like the Lina character she had been hiding in all these eons.

"After quite a few years of being asleep, I guess it's not that bad of an idea to play a bit," she said with a smile. Her hand swept all the spells away from her, causing them to hit the walls and blow holes into them. "If you must... come and try to get me."

* * *

Downstairs, everyone had looked up when the first explosions were heard.

"What was that?" asked Amelia, her blue eyes worried.

"I don't know..." said Zelgadis.

"Lina's upstairs!" shouted Gourry, as he stood up from the table and unsheathed his sword. "We have to go protect her."

"Yes, Mr. Gourry!" shouted Amelia as she pushed back her chair.

Zelgadis found himself joining the group as they ran upstairs although part of him wondered, as a human now... what could he do to help? However, he owed her..... he would do his best.

They rounded the corner and burst into Lina's room. The walls were in shambles, barely holding the ceiling up. The floor had holes into it also, and smoke and fire added the finishing touches to the room that held two people fighting.

"Lina!" shouted Gourry as he stumbled into the room.

"Look! That's Mr. Andreys!" shouted Sylphiel.

Amelia and Zelgadis found themselves casting a quick 'Levitate' to bring Andreys out of the room and therefore, to safety. Gourry had frozen on seeing Lina.

"What's wrong, Mr. Gourry?" asked Sylphiel. She looked at the direction Gourry was staring at.

"That's...Lina?" asked Zelgadis as he also looked up. The roof blew up and rained brick, straw and wood down on them.

"That's not Lina..." said Gourry quietly, his eyes afraid.

"Not?" asked Amelia.

"Look at her eyes..." he said. "It's just like last time... with...."

"Phibrizzio.... and... with L-sama..." said Zelgadis.

"You don't mean...?" started Amelia, horror creeping into her voice.

A powerful blast from the red haired figure sent her opponent flying out of the room into the sky.

"And... wasn't that Xellos?" asked Zelgadis.

"Purple haired dude? Yes..." said Gourry.

Xellos teleported into the room and sent out black cones of magic surrounding Lina as they crackled with energy and magic. Lina teleported out of the circle just as the cones merged into one on the spot that Lina used to have been. Appearing right behind Xellos, she grabbed his staff and pulled it back towards her, causing the staff to lie against Xellos' throat.

"You will never be able to defeat me, Trickster Priest, never..." she said. With that, she gathered an enormous amount of power to her that everyone in the room could feel and brought it down on Xellos' head before she released him from her. The brilliant white light covered his form and suddenly shrunk into a crystal clear pebble of light with a purple flame dancing in the middle. She looked down at her spectators and sensing no hostile intentions from them, she floated towards them. As she neared them, she absentmindedly fused the crystal into the brilliant red orb that decorated the staff of the Priest.

She could recognize them. Or rather, her counter part recognized them and had trusted them in her past life. There was that short haired princess and beside her stood a slightly taller man with a pale complexion and dark hair that almost gleamed bluish. On the other side of the princess stood the slightly taller priestess with purple hair and to her other side stood the tallest of them all. Her flight pattern almost wavered at the onslaught of emotions that seeing his worried blue eyes set of deep within her. But it was miniscule and seeing their reactions, or lack of, they hadn't noticed it. It had been a thing of the past and she paid it no mind. It was something for humans to worry about and now that she was free from humanity, she didn't have to deal with it.

"Lina?" asked the tall blond headed one. A voice inside her placed the face and gave it a name. _Gourry. Gourry Gabriev, wielder of the Sword of Light. Jellyfish brains also_, said the voice ruefully.

"No." she said simply as she landed gracefully before them.

"You look like her," continued Gourry.

"I was her." she said.

"Where is she, then?" asked the shortest of the lot. _Amelia. Amelia Wil Tesla de Seyruun. Princess Amelia Wil Tesla de Seyruun_, said a voice inside of her. _I wanted to marry a rich prince and become a princess..._ said the voice inside her again. She shook her head. It seemed as if the switch in control was not as complete as she would have liked it, but that would be dealt with when the time was right.

"She is gone," she said plainly. _That's going to freak them out..._

"Explain 'gone'," said the other man. _Zelgadis. I think. Yes... Zelgadis Greyweirs._ Think? _Oh yes... he used to be a chimera. I turned him human you know._ There was a touch of pride in her voice. _Anyway... tell them. They deserve to know. They are MY friends after all, and in a small and weird way, your friends also._

"The entity you once knew as Lina Inverse was just a made up identity in which I was placed into by the Lord of Nightmares to balance the world when the Demons, Dragons and Humans were led into chaos." she said simply. _Oh sure, that is going to put them at ease._ The figure sighed. She had no need for a running commentary of everything she said and thought.

"Lina... but that can't be true!" said Gourry. _Gourry... I'm so sorry..._

"It is."

"No! It can't be! What have you done with Lina, you monster?!" shouted Gourry. Only Sylphiel placing a calming hand on Gourry was able to restrain him from leaping at her.

"Lina is gone." she said. _Liar! I'm right here._ You will be gone soon. _But I'm still here._ Not for long. _How long, then?_

"You are really...." started Sylphiel. She felt tears gathering in her eyes. This was just like last time, against Phibrizzio... but she could feel it. This time, it was more complete than before. Before, Gourry had been able to break it. Or at least, L-sama had allowed it to be broken. But now...

"You could almost say, I'm the real Lina," said the figure.

"Lies!" said Gourry. He glared at the figure. "You're not Lina."

"No, but I'm who Lina really was," she said. Gourry...

"What happened?" asked Zelgadis after a quite moment thinking. "We heard fighting, and Andreys was here after disappearing on us. Xellos was here too, but you..."

The figure hesitated. _Dang you! You just ruined my life and broke theirs. Tell them!_ Who am I to tell them what happened? They are but mere mortals. _So am I!_ No, you're not. _Tell them, dang you! You owe it to them. You owe it to me._

"Xellos used the Mirror of Reality on the entity known as Lina Inverse to see who she really was. Even the Dragons and Mazoku knew that Lina Inverse could not be real. The Trickster Priest was sent by Beastmaster to find out her true identity and in doing so, set me free." Happy now? _It could have been better, but not bad either, I guess._

"Stop calling her an entity. She's real," said Gourry angrily.

"She was real. She is no more," she said. "Any more questions?" _That was a harsh way of putting it. Couldn't you have said it softer? For him, at least...._

"How can we get her back?" asked Amelia. _Amelia..._

"There must be a way," said Zelgadis. "If you were inside Lina all this time, then chances are that Lina is somewhere inside of you." _You're so smart, Zel!_

"Is there a way that we could use the mirror again?" asked Sylphiel.

"No," she said. "The mirror shows who I really am, and I am who I am. Lina was a mask, a disguise, a.."

"Stop it!" shouted Gourry as he rushed forward and drew his sword. Lina just turned and looked him, and Gourry found himself stopping the decent at the last minute. Tears crept into his eyes as he looked at her face. It was different enough that he wanted to attack her. It was similar enough that he'd rather stab himself first than hurt her physically.

_Let me go... just a little. Let me talk to them,..._ No. _Just a little bit. I need to talk to them._ To talk now would indicate your existence and would cause even more harm for you would give them false hope. _....please?..._ No.

"My Lord summons me, and I must go." she said. Hearing nothing from them, she turned back and flew out of the building. _Goodbye._ "Goodbye."

There were soft sounds of crying behind her. Something in her twisted. So strong was the pain that she almost stumbled but she corrected herself and vanished. As she flew further away, the pain began to lessen. Not lessen as in it was easier to bear. It just began to fade.

_Goodbye...

* * *

_

She had her butterfly back. So it was done. And with the least amount of damage and optimal effect.

Ceipheed was asleep but his Knight was active. Zelas was awake, as were a few other Mazoku lords to a lesser degree, but they had no Knight or Priest. The humans were hurt, but they were human and knew how to deal with mortality.

There was no more need to send out her butterfly anymore, not until things stopped working again. But she was ready for next time. In a small private bubble, her own essence slept in peaceful oblivion, ready to be called forth when the time called for it.

It all worked out. It always did, for her.

fin

* * *

Author's Notes: ducks behind a table Don't kill me? This part was so hard to write! wails Yes, it ended on a sad note. Over the past year I've found out I like angst and sadness and I guess that sort of transferred into my writing. So there it is. 

Thank you to all of you who reviewed for the past chapters. Special thanks to Kaeru Shisho for encouraging me to write and for reminding me that I still hadn't finished writing it. I hope you weren't let down by the ending.

Much love,

Jru

December 2004


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